Rain without Rainbows

by Leoshi

Sixteen: Harmony

!Disclaimer!: Hi, I’m King Sombra. (No I’m not.) Yes I am, and I claim MLP in the name of me. (I’m lying, I’m not claiming MLP ownership.) Well, I should! (No I shouldn’t, because Faust, Thiesson, and Hasbro already have those rights.) But...! (Shush, it’s pony time.)

Let’s get down to brass tacks. When we last left our lovely little ladies, they had broken through Alucard’s magical lightning and managed to land on the upper side of his clouds. Their victory was short-lived, as a dark dome caged Rainbow Dash, cutting her off from her friends. As they all tried to break it, Alucard himself appeared before Rainbow, giving her a fresh dose of terror.

And here we are, the climax. I won’t tell you anything here, so just head down and read on. Enjoy.

ACT III - The Prestige
Chapter sixteen: Harmony

“Who are you?” she asked, a question that she held, but not close to heart.

She faced forward as she spoke, staring across the broken darkness of the magical dome. The tall, imposing stallion before her made a soft breathing noise, and the light that came from his horn receded by fractals.

“That’s not the question,” he began, “that plagues your mind. Why not ask what you really want to ask?”

The stallion, a dark alicorn who was empowered with stolen magic, spoke as though his voice were everywhere at once. The vibrations in his voice shook her to the bone, though part of that was from the unadulterated fear that was pulsing in her nerves.

The two of them occupied a sealed space above the skies of Canterlot, where the sounds of the ponies outside were muffled and unintelligible. She, a sky-blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, wearing a glowing amulet with amazing potential. He, the alicorn who had assaulted the city below, so replete with magic that his eyes had gone white and blank. In that space, only they existed - even time seemed to halt.

It was early in the evening.

The sun was expected to set in a few hours. The stallion had ensured that it would not. His ill-gotten power had brought both Celestia’s sun and Luna’s moon to a converging point in the sky, forming a total eclipse that was wholly his own. The energy of that eclipse fueled his magic and his malice, forming the nightmarish stallion that Rainbow Dash now gazed upon. The white patterns that danced along his horn’s corona matched those of the dome. The stark white of his eyes was a sharp contrast to that of his deeds.

The magic he commanded was sending waves of pain through her head, which seemed to spike with every syllable he spoke. She visibly winced, and spent a moment in silence as her fear was roused once more. He knew exactly why she hesitated, and decided to continue.

“I’m not keen on repeating myself, of course, but I don’t mind playing along. But then, you probably knew that. Oh, who am I kidding, I know you knew that.”

He took two steps forward, the clacks of his hooves completely silent against the magic he commanded. As he neared Rainbow, the intensity of his blank gaze grew more intense, as did the force of the pounding on the other side of the dome. He did not blink. In that moment, only sight and sound mattered.

“I am Alucard. A stallion of no real significance.”

“Liar.” The utterance surprised Rainbow - the word came so naturally.

Alucard seemed amused. “Ha! Finally, somepony calls me out on it. Have you always had so sharp a tongue, my dear?”

Each second spent in the presence of that smile only fed her hatred of it, which in turn managed to give wind behind her courage. Speaking came easier now, though the ungodly headache still muddled her thoughts. “How do you know me?”

“Must I really keep repeating myself? You haven’t completely forgotten our first exchange, I’m sure.”

It was the truth - he was sure.

“Word of your deeds has travelled far, Rainbow Dash. Even the land where I’m from, ponies know of the Elements of Harmony, and the pegasus who loves to be the center of attention. It was not hard to find you.”

Rainbow shook her head, shifting her longer mane back and forth. “That’s not-”

Her headache spiked. “Answering your question?” Alucard interrupted with a flash of his horn.

“Hng...get out of my head!” she growled behind her teeth.

His smile grew - now, he really was amused. “Now why would I do something like that? But you’re right...I didn’t answer your question. Not what you were really asking, anyway.”

The light of his horn dimmed, but didn’t dissipate. “I admit one thing - you were much more entertaining to watch than the other fools you kept around you. It took some time before I was able to see the true nature of magic here in Equestria, and all the virtues of the ponies who call this place home. I had to take my time, or else my plan would have toppled before it even took flight.”

Slowly, he began to turn his gaze away, instead focusing on the blurry images of her five friends so desperately trying to break his spell. “But how do I know you? You could say it’s through your friends. After all, you were more true to them than you were to yourself...but only at the worst of times. It’s part of what made my ultimate goal all the more alluring.”

With his gaze off her, Rainbow’s headache faded a bit at a time, until it remained as a dull presence in her thoughts. “Fine,” she said, her rising anger barely audible in her tone. “Let’s talk about you. Where are you from?”

Alucard clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “That’s not what you really want to ask. Besides, I’m not much for reminiscing.”

‘Mmmph, not that easy I guess,’ she thought. Alucard, his magic in her thoughts, only chuckled. “Forget it, then. Tell me why you’re attacking Equestria.”

“Why not? Every king needs a country,” he replied.

“But you have a country!”

“You assume. I never said I have a country, only that I hail from one.”

“Then...” ‘Gah, he’s arrogant!’ “Then why Equestria? Why do you want to rule us?”

For a moment, Alucard didn’t speak, but merely gazed at the muddled forms of her friends. The ferocity of their shouts lessened, as though they knew his sights were on them. Several seconds passed in silence, where the only movement was that of his magic and his wavering mane and tail.

“Actually, Equestria is not the land I wish to rule.”

Rainbow Dash was genuinely stunned, and her features revealed so. “Wh-what?!?”

Alucard spent a moment in a fit of restrained laughter. “I don’t desire it...you’re all just being used to prove my strength! I don’t care about ruling Equestria - it’s a worthless home to even more unworthy ponies!”

His head snapped around, and the glare of his horn’s light blinded her. At the same moment, the pressure behind her eyes increased exponentially, sending white-hot pain through her senses. She cried out, fell onto her stomach, and held her head as though it were about to break open and release a torrent of hellspawn. Outside the magical dome, her five friends did the same, feeling every stroke of torturous agony that came with it. They each cried aloud and fell upon the dark clouds.

“My destiny,” he declared, standing over Rainbow’s prone form with a manic smile on his lips, “lies beyond your pathetic home. The only thing your land is to me is an annoyance, something that I intend to make an example of! All the world will see the smoldering ruins of Equestria, and they will know their king’s power! The world will know my power, and nopony - not even my proclaimed rulers - will stand against me!!!”

Spittle from his mouth flew across Rainbow’s body, and she didn’t see the underlying images of pure, undeterred hatred behind his decree. Alucard’s words were like blades, spearing through her body and bringing renewed agony to her system. She cried out in physical pain, remaining conscious only through desperate will.

Seconds, which felt like full-length days, passed by. Alucard growled in his throat, reigning in his revealed hatred for ponies that Rainbow did not know. He stood straighter, and his telepathy finally receded to lesser extremes. The agonizing pain in the Bearers also receded, replaced only with a heightened panic.

“Equestria is merely an example,” he said, his words like grinding bones. “A pawn in a grander game.”

Rainbow coughed, her throat once again dry. “You’re a psycho.”

“And you have your answer,” he replied, once again adopting his trademark sadistic grin. “Now, ask me another question. This is wonderful practice for when I’m a king holding open court!”

She coughed again, certain that some part of her throat should be bleeding. “The eclipse...”

“Grand, isn’t it?” he murmured, almost as if smitten by the maleficence of his design.

“Why did you attack the princesses? Did you just want their magic?”

“More than that - you’re all examples, don’t forget,” Alucard said. “Taking their celestial spells was, of course, needed for my seizing of Equestria. What better way to learn than by the experience of others? As a plus, I was able to humiliate both of them...”

The alicorn paused, smirked, and forced his magic into Rainbow’s thoughts, again causing her headache to spike. He flitted through her recent memory, seeing all of the events of the last few hours as though he were there himself. Rainbow Dash groaned aloud, baring her teeth in hatred of his magic.

“And I see I’ll need to do more than just humiliate,” he added. “Luna looked so assured, didn’t she? Perhaps her other wing will drill a more permanent message into her mind.”

Rainbow kept her mounting fury in check, knowing that he wanted nothing more than to provoke her. But there was something she had to say. “Luna is ten times the alicorn you’ll ever be.”

Alucard broke out in unrestrained laughter, filling the dome with his voice. “Is that what you think? Your precious princess only saw a tenth of my ability.”

“Then why did you wait so long?” Rainbow asked, finally sensing her fury replacing her fear. “If you were always so strong, why didn’t you just strike at her while I was gone?”

He sighed, annoyed. “You keep skirting outside the question you want to ask. If I explain why I waited now, you won’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“Don’t goad me, girl. I know you won’t understand, so stop stalling and ask me,” he growled, venom spewing from his tone.

Rainbow spat. “I thought you would be more patient than this.”

Alucard was genuinely impressed. The pegasus before him wasn’t so weak as he remembered, if the way she was standing up to him was any indication. His magic flared once more, and he looked into her being, curious to see why.

He flitted through her thoughts, her emotions, her morals and regrets, everything about her. He saw her views of her suicide attempts, the self-loathing she had harbored for four years, the fear of his magic and what it could do, and the deep-rooted sorrow of her idol. Above all, however, he saw how angry she was, and how focused she had become in her mission to stop him.

Simply put, she was fed up with him. He raised an eyebrow, unseen beneath the magic around his body.

Rainbow Dash forced herself to ignore the pain in her head, and spoke as clearly as she could. “Why did you need me?”

“There it is,” he breathed. “That’s the great mystery.”

He didn’t answer immediately, instead choosing to walk around her in silence. She stared back at him, her anger and annoyance steadily overcoming her paralyzing fear. When he moved in front of her, he turned and faced away, looking out to where his eclipse gazed down upon them all.

On the other side of the magical dome, Twilight Sparkle was saying something, relaying information. Every word went unheard, hopelessly muffled. Alucard intended for his answers to remain private for a while longer.

He sighed. “Luna is wiser than her sister, isn’t she? ‘Loyalty to their lives,’ indeed.”

Rainbow Dash said nothing.

“I suppose she is right about that. If you’re dedicated to a pony, or to the life of the pony, you can remain loyal. But still, I didn’t expect her to come up with that solution, especially after I worked so carefully to remove you from the equation.”

Alucard finally turned around, and reduced his output of magic. For once, he didn’t want to see all of Rainbow’s thoughts.
“Tell me this,” he said. “What does Loyalty require that the other Elements do not?”

Rainbow mentally ran through each virtue and their strengths. Honesty, always standing for the truth, refusing to accept anything less. Kindness, a gentle spirit who does not wish harm. Laughter, seeking the brightest side of all things through joy. Generosity, making the world brighter through giving of itself. Loyalty, a fierce dedication to morals and what they can do. And Magic, the bonding tie that connected them all.

But what did Loyalty need that the others didn’t? Rainbow was quiet as she thought.

“Consider the needs of the other five,” Alucard hinted. “Magic, for instance, is praised as the most powerful and elusive Element of Harmony...and all it needs is a Bearer as talented as magic itself. Generosity only requires a single pony with a giving nature. Kindness, a pure heart; Laughter, an innocent soul. Even Honesty only needs one pony to seek the truth from the lies.”

He paused to stare at her, his blank eyes wide. “But look at Loyalty. Look at you.”

“What about me?”

Alucard scoffed. “You don’t yet see it? Come, now, surely you must know why it had to be you. All you need to do is look at yourself, Rainbow Dash. Every part of you is unique, tempting the envy of your peers. Do you really need to know why I chose you?”

For a moment, the alicorn was silent. Rainbow Dash spent that moment looking over her body, taking note of her tone. The wings, legs, stomach, muscle, and her very spirit, which had been recovered through the gift of Harmony only a short while ago. There were differences, of course, like the length of her mane and the trauma behind her eyes.

And the question still hung in the still air. “Yes,” she replied.

“Hm...” Alucard gave a light grin, stepping forward until he was only a foot away and looking down at her. “Let me tell you. Loyalty is unique among the six Elements because of what it needs. In fact, it’s unique because it needs. Each of the other five virtues use only one Bearer to see them made, as long as that Bearer’s soul emulates that one virtue.”

Alucard began walking around her, his body barely brushing against hers. The sensation of his magic so near caused her coat to stand on-end.

“Magic only needs a talented pony - even I could wield it if I adopted the virtues of Harmony. Generosity only needs one pony’s giving nature, and Kindness and Laughter only need pure souls who don’t wish harm. Honesty is tricky, but once you find the perfect Bearer, the rest is foal’s play.”

He leaned in close, whispering into her ear. “Loyalty is different.”

Rainbow jumped away, shaking her head. His words felt hot on her pelt, like he had poured poison into her ear. Her wings sprang outward on instinct, and she quelled an animalistic desire to bite him.

“Different?” she asked after a moment.

“In a singular, unique way,” Alucard added, lifting his head up again. “Loyalty cannot exist with only one pony to be its Bearer. In order for the virtue of loyal dedication to exist, there must be others.”

Rainbow rubbed a hoof in the shell of her ear, hoping to remove the feeling of poison. “Others...what? There’s only one Element of Loyalty, and only one pony needs to hold it.”

Alucard was quiet for a second, then he gave a single chuckle. “Heh. Still so naïve - I don’t mean it needs multiple souls to embody Loyalty. There need to be several ponies involved with the Bearer in order for Loyalty to exist in the world, ponies that the one Bearer can be loyal to. Because if you were loyal only to yourself, you would just be selfish. You cannot be the guardian of that piece of Harmony if you do not have others with you. Loved ones, friends, rulers, role models - it doesn’t matter. If you do not have them, then you cannot possibly be loyal.”

It made sense, and she hated to admit it. Among the six Elements, Loyalty was the only one that needed other ponies around the one Bearer in order to exist. All of the others could be a part of the world with just their respective Bearer.

“So that’s why you singled me out? Instead of targeting something more powerful, like Magic?”

“That’s right,” he praised. “Though you should give yourself more credit, my dear. Loyalty, Honesty, and any of the others can have just as much power as Magic. But any of them can easily be replaced by one new pony to accept the virtue. Loyalty is unique because it needs others to be practiced, so when you left, everything fell apart.”

Rainbow’s mind began running faster, connecting dots and reaching new ones. “Why did you need to bind your magic to me in the first place, then? Why not just kill me and strike sooner?”

“You’re starting to sound like Luna,” Alucard deadpanned. “Binding my magic to you was a precaution, we’ll say. Through the methods of binding, unraveling, and recovering magic, a pony is able to take the essence of the host and claim it as his own.”

“Essence?” she echoed. “So you just wanted more power.”

“That’s only a fraction of the reason. By imbibing your soul with my magic, I was able to absorb the traits of the Element’s power. The longer you were bound, the more I could claim as my own. When the time came to take back what was mine, I also took the power of the Element of Loyalty into my own being.”

The pegasus’ mind halted. There were two problems with that explanation. “How was that possible? I was nowhere near the Element when I was infected with that magic,” she said, glancing down at her glowing necklace nervously.

Alucard snorted. “Just how naïve are you? The Elements are only a channel, an augment. It’s the spirits of Harmony that bring about the power. Loyalty is a part of you, Rainbow Dash - the Element of Loyalty only amplifies what’s already there.”

“Then how were you able to absorb the power of the Element when I wasn’t home?” she demanded.

To her dismay, he was ready. “I believe your precious princess explained that one in flowing detail.”

‘Sacrifice,’ she remembered. “So why did you need it, anyway? If you’re so powerful on your own.”

The stallion smirked, catching on without the need for his telepathy. “I’m no fool, as you have already learned. I knew that attacking Equestria and her leaders would incite their wrath, and Celestia is nothing if not predictable. Not that she had a chance, anyway.” He paused, sending a wave of power through his horn - the energy released a burst of soft light that briefly illuminated the dome. “I knew she would call upon the power of the Elements as her weapon, so what better defense than using the power to my benefit?

“Oh, it wasn’t pleasant, let me tell you,” he went on, suddenly reminiscent. “When I reclaimed the power I had placed in you, the energy of your spirit burned me. I already knew that would happen - it’s common with foreign souls in a body - but yours was more challenging than most. Of course, it was also more rewarding as a result.”

Rainbow caught on to a detail, and tried to follow it. “So you’ve bound to other ponies before?”

“Hah!” he started, and suddenly his reminiscent attitude was gone. “We’re not discussing me, don’t forget. We’re discussing you.”

The cyan pegasus grimaced - he hadn’t risen to the bait. Alucard had given her a wealth of knowledge, but still she was not satisfied. Nothing he had said gave her any real weapon she could use against him. But if he would not answer questions about himself, what else could she ask?

‘We’re discussing me? But...’ She blinked. ‘He said role models...’

“If you wanted me,” she began, “then what about Spitfire?”

“Oh, her?” Alucard muttered. His smile didn’t grow, but somehow it seemed more jubilant. “Such a tragic story she’s starring. A life taken away in an instant, and everything believed to be true is based on idealism and lies. Is it true she’s fallen from grace, as you were?”

His horn glowed with magic once more, and Rainbow felt a lance of pain skewer her temples. Alucard dived into her memories, gazing upon the events from the day before.

“My, my,” he breathed, “she’s even worse off than you were, isn’t she? Refusing to rise again, despite having such gifts from the Sun Princess. That’s such a nice home!”

“You stay away from her, you demon!!!”

Alucard, genuinely surprised, halted his magic and turned to look at Rainbow Dash. The mare had shifted, bringing her head down and baring her teeth. Her eyes were focused in what could only be described as rage, and her wings were flapping on instinct, ready to propel her forward at a moment’s notice.

Rainbow had never been so angry in her life, and never before had it felt so right.

“What’s this?” Alucard asked. “Spitfire doesn’t need you to defend her. As I saw, she didn’t want anything to do with you at all. You’ve done enough, I would guess - and I don’t have to guess. Why are you so worked up?”

“Answer my question, first,” she demanded. Her voice was a fierce growl, primal and dominant in the closed-off space. “Why her?”

The dark alicorn was silent at first, studying the mare before him. Even with his unmatched magic and power in telepathy, this was something he was not expecting. The Wonderbolts were dead and gone, and while they had certainly been an influence on Rainbow Dash, it was not that influence that had spurred him into action so long ago.

The Wonderbolts were no longer a part of Rainbow Dash, but they obviously meant something to her. Still...the team, and their ruined leader, held no significance to him. So he decided there was no point in keeping this truth hidden away.

“The truth is,” he began, “they were just in the wrong company.”

Rainbow said nothing, instead choosing to glare at him with her rage-filled eyes.

“I had intended on killing off a few ponies no matter what, using the magic I had linked to you. It was all a question of the best time and place - I would have gone after any poor soul who was too close to you. When I finally found the correct time, and saw the place you were in...well, it all fit perfectly.

“I never needed to kill them specifically. You just happened to be with them when I chose to make my move. I would have rathered your little friends out there,” he added, gesturing toward the outside of the dome, “but we can’t have everything.”

He paused, looking skyward, where his eclipse still gazed upon the five Bearers trying to undo his cage magic. “Or, perhaps, most of us can’t.” He smiled maliciously.

In that instant, when she saw the barest hint of his smile, Rainbow moved. She leapt forward, pumping as much air behind her wings as she could. She let out a cry of anger that showed just how beyond scared she was.

Rainbow moved like lightning - but then, Alucard was the quicker flash before the strike.

With only centimeters to spare, the alicorn swept his devilish wings in front of him, stepping onto his hind legs in the same instant. He dipped to one side, feeding all of his momentum into his wings, resulting in a powerful strike to Rainbow’s abdomen. Her movement halted in midair, suspended by the edge of his wings.

But he did not simply stop there. Following through with his movement, Alucard recovered his balance and pushed forward. He flexed his outstretched wings, pulling them back to his sides, but in their place he shoved outward with a foreleg. He caught and held Rainbow against her chest, pinning her against the inner wall of his darkened dome.

Rainbow cried out in shock and pain, struggling in reflex to free one of her wings, which had been caught at a bad angle between her body and the dome. It came loose, and both wings helplessly flapped against the magic in a vain attempt to dislodge herself from the alicorn’s hold. She glared down at him, their faces inches from each other, both mouths twisted into varying magnitudes of hate.

“You ignorant, cretinous little hatchling!” Alucard growled, pushing into Rainbow’s torso and limiting her breathing. “Spitfire and her little circus group mean nothing to you and I! You think you can redeem her way of life through a mere show of force? You think I hold any regret for taking away the lives of those pegasi? You’re wrong, Loyalty, you are very wrong!”

A hot wetness suddenly splattered along Alucard’s muzzle. Rainbow had spit on him.

“I don’t care how wrong I may be,” she wheezed, struggling for breath against his hold. “It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or what you plan on doing. I’ve heard enough - you’re a monster, a murdering psychopath who gets off on the suffering of others, and I won’t let you do anything else!”

Slowly, Alucard curled one of his wings forward and wiped a majority of the spit off his face. His wing was twitching, a telltale sign of just how enraged he was at the defiling action.

Rainbow continued to talk, difficult though it was. “You’re pathetic. You hide in the shadows, stealing the energy of ponies who aren’t even aware you exist, and when you finally move, you take innocent lives away! Spitfire did nothing to you, and now she’s left in her despair, a ghost of what she used to be! Celestia and Luna look out for their country, but you injure them and steal their magic for yourself! Even ponies who have nothing to do with this are killed by you, because you like it! And this whole plan for Equestria...making it an example...”

She trailed off, finally unable to speak, unable to breathe deeply enough for it. Alucard continued to press his weight against her, moving his foreleg to the base of her throat. The burn mark, where his bound magic had tried to attack her, was covered. His white eyes, despite lacking pupils or irises, seemed to glimmer with a seething rage.

“You claim you’ve heard enough,” he spoke, his voice ironically steady and collected. “You’ll live long enough to hear one more thing.”

With a grunt, he lifted his other foreleg off the ground, pressing it against the dome’s interior for balance. He pushed himself farther upward, standing tall on both hindlegs, while at the same moment pushing Rainbow’s struggling body along the dome as well. She rose another few feet, and the shift in gravity put even more pressure on her neck. She began to violently cough, unable to replenish the oxygen in her body.

“You cannot win, Loyalty. I have envisioned every step of my plan for your nation, carefully mapping out each movement and reaction. A segment of your Element’s power resides in me, giving me protection from these weapons you wear like trophies. Your sun and moon are under my influence, and their power feeds my own. You will not be receiving any help from the city below - you are Celestia’s last resort, and everypony knows it.

“My destiny lies elsewhere, but you will not stop me from my efforts here. Every move by you and those you know has already been accounted for, and the only thing I did not foresee was you recovering your spirit and challenging me in this foalish manner. That is something I intend to amend.

“So go ahead, just like the last time we met,” he whispered, layering his voice with a malicious undertone. “Make a wish, Loyalty. Let me see it, and I will choose how it comes true.”

He tapped into his telepathy, desiring to give her as much torment as possible. When his horn became awash in electric-black power, he trained it totally on her mind. The invasive magic sent white-hot flashes searing across her senses, mentally burning her. Alucard tasted victory, and he smirked.

In that moment, with her newfound strength failing her, Rainbow Dash reflected on all that she had learned. Her attempts at besting Alucard had failed, and she was scared of what her failure could mean to the rest of Equestria. Even with the power of Loyalty in her, it wasn’t enough to overcome the adversity that the dark alicorn posed. His movements were planned ahead of time, and he had used her as a pawn in his demented game of chess. Alucard was a grandmaster, and he had proved that twice over.

However, it was true that there was one thing he had not been expecting - her return. After working in such detail to remove Loyalty as a factor, he had been inwardly surprised to see it rise in the burst of a Sonic Rainboom. He still knew that Loyalty was unique to the virtues in Harmony, so it was just a matter of removing it once more. This time, permanently.

In all of their discussion, one thing stood out in Rainbow’s mind like a beacon: Alucard had admitted to being wrong. And she wanted so desperately to prove him wrong again, to show him that even a pawn could corner a king.

Just not alone.

Summoning every ounce of strength in her, Rainbow Dash focused on a single thought, knowing full well that Alucard would read it. She strained one eye open, looking at his triumphant smile.

‘Have you ever had friends, Alucard?’

The smile faltered, and Rainbow knew she had him.

In that moment, as if by instinct, the glow of her Element intensified to a sharp, brilliant shine. Five more shines emerged at the same time, each one set in a different spot surrounding the outside of the sealed dome. Where the light was shining through, strands of violet magic breached the dome and began to counteract it. This magic, augmented with the power of Harmony, quickly cut through the dark spell like a razor. It moved quickly, like an eel through water, spiraling upward along the dome and spreading its own power along the surface.

Alucard looked around in shock, unable to piece together what was happening. As he tried to find the truth of his rapidly changing situation, his magical dome finally fell away, and he was without support for his weight. With only a moment of hesitation and a restrained gasp, he jumped forward and landed on all fours several yards away.

Rainbow, meanwhile, had managed to push herself away with a powerful pump of her wings. She fell away from him, gasping for air, feeling her strength return with every breath. She landed on her rump atop the dark clouds, coughing and wheezing and very, very grateful.

During their conversation, her friends had been woefully left out. It had taken them a long while to give up on trying to physically shatter the dome. By the time they had felt Alucard’s mind-piercing rage, they had come up with a different approach. It involved supposition, faith, and instinct - the short definition of Rainbow Dash herself.

Twilight Sparkle had spent the next several minutes magically studying the energy of the dome, prying her own power across the surface. To her fortune, the thieving lines of white were contained within the shell of the dome, so she was able to feel the energy used without fear of being interrupted. All the same, she did not waste time - Rainbow was in serious danger, and every heartbeat separated from her friends could be her last.

Then, finally, she saw a way to mimic the spell. Not to steal and copy it as Alucard would have done, but to match the energy of the spell and dismantle it, like a counter-agent. With her raw ability, the magnifying power of the Element of Magic, and the bonds she shared with the four ponies also kept outside, she was able to do just that in the span of a few seconds.

Rainbow Dash was eternally grateful that, after four agonizing years, she was no longer alone. Her friends had saved her.

Alucard, who had cleared the area and landed a few yards away, looked back at the scene. The Bearer of Magic was calling back her power, and he noticed how her own eyes had gone white like Luna’s would do. It seemed that she hadn’t let her fear of his magic stop her, if she was releasing so much of it at once.

Twilight called back the last of her power, and the glow of the six Elements faded to a less extreme shine. The six friends regrouped, with Rainbow Dash at their center, who slowly recovered and rose to her hooves. She rubbed the base of her throat tenderly, over the burn mark that ringed her neck. Despite her inner fear and the adrenaline running through her system, she looked calm and determined.

The six of them, all colorful mares with defined tastes, looked across the empty space toward Alucard, who in turn gazed back. As the five newer sets of eyes finally saw Alucard for the first time, they each betrayed their shock. After a few seconds, that shock shifted, and they adopted the determination that Rainbow was showing. Soon that determination was coupled with the same calm, as well.

Alucard was the first to speak. “Clever girl. It looks like you proved your loyalty once again, and your precious friends have proven theirs.”

After a brief hesitation, Rainbow tilted her head to one side. “It’s like you said,” she began, her voice weakened from the choking. “Without others, there can be no Loyalty.”

“And your faith in your friends is that strong?”

Her only response was taking a single step backward. Not out of fear, but to take her place with her five friends more solidly, a silent declaration of the faith Alucard questioned.

“Alucard,” Twilight Sparkle began, acting on authoritative instinct, “we’re here to make you answer for crimes against Equestria and the two princesses. Call off your magic and return control of the sun and moon to their rightful masters!”

Alucard stood taller, indignant. He had noticed the subtle wavering in Magic’s voice, a telling hint of her own restrained fear. “You have no authority over me, little mage. You can’t hope to invade my presence and then make demands of me.”

“Do it!” Twilight called, the fear in her voice a little more prominent. “Or else you’ll have to answer to the magic of the Equestrian people!”

He snorted. “And you, young one, will have to answer to the magic I command. Think carefully,” he added, spreading his wings to their full span. “You’ve seen what I am capable of doing. You’ve seen what I have already done. And now you six are the only ones in my sights. Do you really wish to stand against me?”

No answer was needed. The six friends all took stances, staring directly at him. Twilight and Rarity lowered their heads and tapped their magic, sending rippling coronas along the lengths of their horns. Applejack and Pinkie rapped at the clouds beneath them with their forehooves, though Applejack was more reserved due to her hurt leg. For the four of them, the glow of their unnatural wings was solid, and they stood rigid in preparation for movement. Fluttershy was noticeably more reluctant, her fear evident as she hovered above them, despite the confidence she held while in Rainbow’s company.

Rainbow Dash herself became unreadable, standing tall and defiant like a cliff against an ocean. Her silence was her response, and the presence of her glare seemed to speak for all six of them at once. Their positions and their closeness to each other exuded how they felt: they all knew they had to challenge this evil to their world, even if there was lingering fear of the unknown. They knew that this was going to be their greatest challenge yet, and they would not be given any grace or quarter.

Alucard waited a moment further, equal parts impressed and curious. He knew he could easily blast them all out of the sky, or overpower them with a concentrated burst. But where was the fun in that?

He gave a low laugh, tapping into his own magic. The area around them seemed to grow darker as a result.

“Very well,” he called. “I’ll grant your wish, just this once.”

The alicorn waited three heartbeats before he sprang into action. Leaping forward with a powerful yell, he dived toward the group of six, forcing them to scatter. Four of them took to the air, one leapt backward, and the last one weaved to one side. Never content to leave actions simple, he exuded magic when his hooves touched down, spreading it outward in a nova of power. It spread out on all sides as a dark ring.

The attack caught one pony, Pinkie Pie, in her side, forcing her away with a violent shove. Before she fell, however, Fluttershy swooped down and helped her rise. Applejack, the mare who had jumped backward, took a running leap and cleared the nova with inches to spare, and kept running toward Alucard.

With his grin unfaltering, Alucard unleashed a second attack, this one as a spherical burst that completely covered any angle of assault. He timed it so when Applejack lashed out at him, she only met the expanding sphere of magic, which then met her strength with some of his own. The point of contact, her two forehooves against the magic, rippled with white lines.

A split second passed before his force overtook hers, and the resulting reaction was enough to blast her backwards. Her joints popped violent as they were forced into their sockets, and she was thrown uncontrollably, rolling to a stop several yards away. She struggled to rise, but Fluttershy was at her side a moment later.

The entire exchange had taken only a few short seconds. Rainbow flew above, choosing to take the time to gauge her enemy as best she could. The sight of her friends in pain, however, erased that notion from her mind. She pulled her hind legs up and dived, closing the distance to him only a few seconds further.

Alucard twitched and spun, extending his enhanced wing as an extra arm, and caught Rainbow Dash bodily in what would translate as a backward strike. He pushed her away as easily as the two ponies before, and Rainbow tumbled into the clouds. Alucard used his momentum to gracefully jump back a step...straight into the lines of sight of Twilight and Rarity, both of whom had been gathering their own magic for an attack.

The two unicorns let loose with their gathered power, aiming down at him. Their combined magic merged into a wide energy wave. The distance was too close, and Alucard had no chance of raising any shield spell in time.

But as the attack neared him, they learned he didn’t need to. Rather than call upon a new spell, Alucard had expanded the magic that was surrounding his horn. At the point of impact from the twofold magic, he released his own, and a torrent of white lines surrounded the attack, stopping it cold. It was exactly like what he had done to Princess Luna’s attack magic.

“No!” Rarity yelped. She had been hoping to catch him off-guard.

The power of his magic dominated the attack, and dismantled it in a show of color. The entire mass of energy rotated and dissipated with a gust of temporal winds. As the final strands of magic faded away, Alucard was standing defiantly, calling upon more magic to wield. He was eyeing Twilight Sparkle with a sadistic hunger, obviously enjoying the display he had given them all.

“We have unfinished business, you and I,” he said, pouring more ominous power into his horn.

Never breaking eye contact with Twilight, his magic spun and detached from his horn, forming a bulbous black orb. Streaks of white lines shot out from his horn and merged with it, giving life and size to the orb. When he finally released it, the magic began to move with a will of its own, and hovered forward meticulously as though selecting a target.

A chill of fear ran up the unicorn’s spine as she recognized the spell. Without a doubt, it was exactly the same as what she had read in the Unknowable Divines text - the same as what had nearly claimed her life seven days ago. Her throat went dry, and she ceased flapping her supernatural wings in her state of fear.

Alucard’s blank eyes blinked once, and his empowered orb sped forward to meet the unicorn. Before it contacted her, however, Rainbow Dash was there, ramming it full-force. It shifted away from her fearful friend, tackled like a physical thing.

Twilight’s fear gave way to shock at the display. Seeing her rainbow-maned friend protect her in that fashion spawned question about how it was possible. But after a moment, when the magical orb began to latch onto Rainbow instead, she broke out of her stupor and rushed to help. Her horn glowed brightly with lavender magic. And she wasn’t alone.

Rainbow’s coat started burning at every point that the orb touched - she might as well have dived into a pile of hot coal. She flapped her wings and violently shook herself, but the magic was insistent, holding on with a fierce suction. It crawled along her pelt as the magic that was bound to her had done, though with a terrifying speed. The pegasus felt a flight of panic once more.

‘No!’ she mentally screamed. ‘No, not this! Not again!’

Then, salvation, again at the hooves of her friends. Blasts of colored magic struck the orb and caused it to cave, while at her back she felt two sets of forehooves grasp and pull her. With the combined effort of her friends, the orb was blasted away, but not destroyed. The last strands of the dark magic released her, and the sensation of being burned immediately began to dissipate.

Rainbow stepped backward and looked around her. Pinkie and Fluttershy were at her sides, having just pulled her away. Rarity and Twilight were moving ahead of her, bombarding the orb with spells fueled with surprising vengeance. It was clear by looking at them that they were angry at how their last encounter with this spell had gone, and were now doing everything they could to win. The power they commanded was intimidating.

Applejack was not among them. Rainbow turned her head to see where the draft pony was.

The orange mare, upon seeing her best friend about to be claimed by dark magic again, flew into a frenzy. She had broadsided Alucard, throwing him off balance, and was lunging and kicking at him with surprising speed. The alicorn, his size working against him, was just barely staying beyond reach.

As Rainbow watched the display, a loud scream of ethereal rage sounded behind her, and a blast of temporal wind blew in her direction. Twilight and Rarity had completely destroyed the orb.

Alucard, sensing the defeat of his spell, took to the air and spent a moment to gaze upon the unicorns. Shock was evident on his face - he hadn’t been expecting the defeat so quickly. Just how much magic did the pair wield? Perhaps there was a deeper reason Celestia had chosen the Bearer of Magic as her personal understudy.

A howl of anger rose to meet him, and he looked down to see Honesty, Loyalty, and Generosity flying up to attack. He turned and dipped low, gaining speed before twisting upward parallel to the cloud layer. Behind him, the three mares flew with a precision focus, matching - and soon overtaking - his velocity. In front of him, he called upon more magic, reaching out to the clouds below them.

The bellies of the clouds grumbled, and their surfaces began to heat. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy looked to their hooves, all of them spotting telltale lines of white zipping beneath them. After a second, the lines came to specific points and began to gather power in themselves. They were tiny circles, and they blinked faster as the seconds passed. There were hundreds of them.

Instinct took hold. “Move!!!” Twilight screamed, spreading her supernatural wings. Her two friends matched her movement, and they all pumped their wings as hard as they could.

A split second after they rose, streaks of black lightning emerged and fired upward, spearing the sky and heating the air. They wrote jagged lines in their paths, forming terrible cages for the instant they existed. The three friends moved furiously, barely escaping the reach of the lethal branches. Fluttershy took one to the middle of her tail, but that was as far as the damage went.

But they just kept coming. As one bolt faded, another point of power would converge, letting loose a new bolt within seconds. The power held in each bolt fed pure, feral panic into each pony, and the heat generated from them gave even more confusion to the chaos. As each rapid heartbeat came and went, their struggle lost cohesion, and the nightmarish magic came ever closer to their targets.

Finally, Twilight’s instinct gave way to sense. She expanded her own magic, spreading a clear forcefield that surrounded Pinkie and Fluttershy as well. Now forming a larger target, the lightning struck the field several times - but never made it through. A brief surge of relief coursed through Twilight, after which she focused herself and looked ahead, ignoring the several dozens of impacts made against her shield.

Further along, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack were forced to break off their pursuit due to the same dark lightning. Without anypony chasing him, Alucard had turned and was directing his magic at them, breaking apart their cohesion as he had done to Twilight’s. His horn radiated with malicious power, giving direction to the legion of attacks at his command.

Rainbow Dash would have sworn she saw that same damnable smile on his lips. She ducked and weaved, barely evading the jagged streaks that longed to strike her. Her friends were faring no better - Rarity was close to screaming as her fear grew, and Applejack was just as near to screaming, though out of anger.

After a moment, a new feeling passed over Rainbow. A clear sphere of shield magic had formed around her, preventing any of the lightning from reaching her. She looked over her shoulder and spotted Twilight coming her way, with the rest of her friends in tow, all of them within their own shield. With a fervent nod from the unicorn, Rainbow doubled-back and flew toward the closest of her friends, Rarity. The forcefield granted to Rainbow followed her without any hesitation.

Rarity had seen the lifeline, and flew toward Rainbow at the same moment. She entered the forcefield, breathing heavily. She was still close to screaming, but now it was more likely to be out of jubilation. She and Rainbow took off together, reaching Applejack only a few seconds later. Since the orange mare hadn’t seen the pair approaching, Rainbow had physically tackled her and brought her along.

“What the-?” she started, looking around her. The streaks of lightning continued to strike the shield, but gained no access to the lives within. She looked up at Rainbow, realized her boon, and pushed off to fly next to her.

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Pinkie joined them, and the two shields merged into one. The friends regrouped, then took off as a unit and began to close the distance to Alucard.

However, the alicorn had another trick in his arsenal. Focusing his magic, her centralized the inverted blasts of lightning, forming them to intercept the group. Instead of hundreds of streaks, only a few more powerful ones emerged. With the area narrowed, the force behind the lightning caused them to sway, even though the shield didn’t fail. It wasn’t long before they were forced to dodge aside, and that was what he wanted.

Rainbow looked down at the clouds as the streaks of lightning suddenly cut off. The trademark lines of white were scurrying along the surface of the cloud, meeting at a point ahead of them. But instead of multiple points, the lines were converging into one massive area, gathering power.

‘Just like the bolt after I made the Sonic Rainboom!’ she realized.

The six friends flew as fast as they could, hoping to overcome the spot of gathering magic before it unleashed. But it wasn’t to be - the attack was released long before they got near Alucard. A deafening roar sounded as a monstrous bolt fired upward, directly at them.

There was no time to dodge, so they didn’t. Instead, Twilight shouted that they all touch down and brace themselves - the words were just out of her mouth before the attack connected their shield. The power behind the lightning forced them to the clouds, where they huddled together as they had done in the Wonderbolts building.

They only sources of light were the six shining Elements, which intensified as Twilight poured all she could into her magic. The roar of the lightning drowned out everything else. They held on to each other, hoping to outlast the attack.

Alucard, chuckling, gently touched down and watched. The view of the six Bearers was completely obscured by the flowing lightning, and the cracks of opposing magic rent the air as sharp as any thunder. His attack was seamless and unending, forcing them to defend. Their defense, he knew, was not infinite - it would only be a matter of seconds before their barrier split and his power surged over them instead.

“Wish granted,” he said.

With his self-satisfied smile, the dark alicorn began trotting forward, even as his lightning continued to fire endlessly. He briefly considered the best way to display their bodies to the ponies of Canterlot, entertaining thoughts of their limp forms falling like stones from the heavens he now ruled.

But as he thought, a glimmer of light shot forward from the trapped mares. Though it struck Alucard below his neck, it barely amounted to anything more than a slight twinge. It wasn’t even an attack. The beam of light was narrow, and it flickered as his attack magic passed through it.

‘Ah,’ he realized. ‘This must be their last-ditch effort to defy me. This is an attempt to communicate!’

Alucard leaned in, amused despite himself. “What do you want to say, Rainbow Dash?” he called, unheard beneath the tumultuous chaos.

Within the brunt of two magics, Rainbow said nothing. She roared.

In that instant, the beam of narrow light that shone on Alucard winked out, his magical assault was dismantled from the inside, and a harsh wave of spectral power expanded from the trapped mares. Waves of vibrant colors seemed to explode from their spot, pushing back the lightning. At the same time, swirling ribbons of violet and azure magic tore through the attack, disabling it like his earlier barrier had been. Resounding cracks of opposing magic sounded all around them, and for that brief instant, the sky was alight with a faint glow.

That instant ended with a blunt, fierce strike against Alucard, square where the beam of light had shone. He yelped in true surprise, feeling himself moving backward. Then upward. Then further away, pushed to the atmosphere by what appeared to be a glowing white orb of pure, magnificent power.

Rainbow Dash’s roar of unadulterated rage had not stopped, and that sound was all Alucard heard as he was pushed across the sky against his will. The abject speed of their attack had pinned his wings and legs, and such shock ran through his mind that he couldn’t register a counterattack. Everything about this wasn’t supposed to happen. It’s wasn’t possible.

He tuned out his surprise and instead acted on instinct, wedging his foreleg between the brilliant orb and his body. With a howl of pain as the orb burned his coat, he pushed off, tumbling aside for a moment before his wings caught air. He sighted the orb as it, too, turned away.

And then it broke into six. Six shining motes of light, shaped into the bodies of the Bearers, speeding faster than he had seen any normal pony fly. Six beacons of power, a power he didn’t understand or foresee - and one of them had turned around to face him again. He reacted, firing off a lance of lightning from his horn.

The smaller orb of light deftly dodged the attack. As it neared him, he heard Rainbow’s cry grow louder and louder. It was then that he realized what had happened: the six Bearers had enacted their gifts from the Elements, as they had done in the Canterlot airspace. But this time, they took the gifts in themselves, enhancing their abilities beyond what he had anticipated. They had become Harmony.

“That’s not possible!” he finally cried.

The pegasus-shaped sixth light slammed into him once more, forcing any further cries of defiance down his throat. The points of contact against his coat once again burned him, and he wrestled for dominance against the force. It was a doomed attempt, however - Rainbow Dash, the light that attacked him, was forcing him to the clouds, and together, they slammed into them as solidly as a stone street.

Their bodies sent out tendrils of dark cloud, and the shock of the landing finally halted Rainbow’s howl of anger. Her body’s shine cut off as well, and she shook her head to clear her senses. Her eyes snapped down, taking stock of her enemy.

Alucard was stunned, lying on his back beneath her, coughing dryly as oxygen clawed its way down his throat. She had her hind legs on either side of his torso, and forehooves pressed dangerously close to his neck. She could have killed him with her body-slam had she gripped him a little higher. That fact made her part disappointed and part relieved.

Satisfied, she looked around. Her five friends had all landed in a circle surrounding her, and they too had returned to normal. But their Elements, likes hers, were resonating with power. The shine from the artifacts grew to a breaking point, yet the mares were not concerned. Quite the contrary - they were focused. Harnessing it.

A few precious seconds passed before Rainbow’s five friends shifted their focus. Through some unspoken order, they all chose to give the magic of their respective Element to her. One by one, arcs of unfiltered light sped from Magic, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Kindness, reaching and empowering Loyalty. The power coursed through Rainbow Dash, and she kicked off from Alucard’s prone form, flying directly above him. Against the sight of the eclipse, she was a brilliant star.

As she gained height, she called down. “This is for all you’ve done, you monster! For me, my friends, Spitfire, Luna, and all of Ponyville and Canterlot! I swore I would stop you, and now I WILL!!!”

Rainbow Dash’s body once again began to glow, overcome with the combined power of all six Elements. She brought her legs to her body and her wings to her sides, and let gravity push her down. Her scream of rage, of dedication, of pure defiance for Alucard, was as loud as thunder.

She hit him with the full force of her body, releasing every ounce of power she held. The resulting output sent a magical blast of rainbow-colored light in all directions, once again lighting up the sky. The Bearers of Harmony were forced to shield their eyes. Temporal winds blew out from the impact, buffeting the mares who had just barely braced themselves in time. Even Rainbow Dash was sent careening aside after her strike was made, and she landed in a heap a few yards away. Her body had returned to its natural color, while every ounce of Harmony’s power had transferred to, and was working against, Alucard.

The alicorn’s cry of pain rang out as the gift of Harmony permeated him. His world became consumed with the sensation of being burned, both from within and without. Never before had such magic felt so wrong to him. It swallowed him whole and invaded his very being, assailing him in ways he could not have possibly imagined.

The reaction of the magic lasted for several seconds. Slowly, the wind ceased and the light died away, returning the sky to the eclipse-held darkness. It was even longer before the six friends felt safe enough to try moving, each of them blinking the brilliant shine out of their retinas.

Rainbow Dash collected herself, steadily rising to a sitting position. She gently shook her head, relieved that the spearing ache in her temples had completely disappeared. Groaning, she looked up, her first sight that of her friends slowly recovering as well. Each pair of magical wings was strong and bright, an indication of how well her friends had endured.

A gentle smile was creeping on her lips, confident that she had done what she had sworn to do. She turned her head, expecting to see a veil of smoke or a petrified alicorn, just as the last two times she had used the Elements to save the world.

What she saw, however, froze that smile where it stood. What she saw, there on the clouds, stole any thought from her. Because what she saw was unlike anything she was expecting.

Alucard’s body was changing before her eyes. Rippling matter like oil rose up from him, gently waving in a non-existent breeze. The familiar patterns of white lines traveled in all directions, yet at the same time were without direction, running rampant within the confines of the oily mass. Every few seconds, a stray jolt of magical lightning would fire off, which barely amounted to more than a static discharge. The entire thing gave off a soft drone, like a waterfall at the wrong end of a cave.

At the bottom of that mass lay a shuddering body. An alicorn, as expected, but not in the same way. The body was white, and the wings feathered. The stallion was hyperventilating, his eyes clenched shut. He was grimacing in absolute pain, barely able to roll onto his stomach. All over his form, the oily mass glowed, a sickening black in direct contrast to his white pelt. It gripped and wrapped around his forelegs and lower body. When Rainbow looked closer, she saw that the dark matter was steadily spreading across his body, the hold on him growing bit by bit as the seconds crawled by.

The sight stole any kind of reaction from her. She stood transfixed.

Her friends, having seen the same thing, began to cry out in pure confusion. “What in the world is that?” Rarity’s shrill voice sounded. “I-I don’t...”

The alicorn continued to violently tremble, caught in the throes of some unseen torment. He curled inwardly, making himself smaller, as though trying to hide from the world itself. Each breath taken was wracked with the sound of choking. His entire form was a disturbing sight.

Slowly, Applejack and Fluttershy made their way to him. The pair was extremely cautious, remembering the crimes that the stallion had done. As they reached him, the pegasus tried to communicate.

“H-hello?”

Immediately, his eyes snapped open, causing the timid pony to jump back in shock. His eyes were visible, no longer veiled by a magical fallout. They were narrow dots of terror, absolute pain, and confusion, to which Rainbow Dash immediately related. The life behind them was dull, weathered, like they had just been roused from an eternal nightmare. But the most important detail was their color. They were not red eyes.

The sight of the eyes, blue and frightened, sparked a whirlwind of wonder in Rainbow Dash. She started to think silently. As she did, the stallion began to control his breathing, and uttered a single word.

“Help.”

The utterance broke the remaining ponies out of their stupor. They clamored to Rainbow Dash, discussing among themselves what in creation had just happened. Every word, however, was lost to the mare - they sounded far off, as though from another city, or another world.

“I don’t understand!” Twilight shouted, mostly to herself. “That black stuff...I don't know what it is! There’s no reason for it...”

Pinkie was talking right alongside her. “Look at him now! He’s hurt, in a lot of pain! What’s happened to...”

“Nothin’ like this has happened before!” The words of Applejack were strong, yet still sounded far away.

“We need to...what is going on?” Rarity was losing herself to the strain.

Last of all, Fluttershy was just as lost as her friends. “It’s like a complete swap of the pony we fought...”

As they talked over each other, Rainbow’s gaze remained fixed on the stallion. He, meanwhile, continued to plead for aid. “Help...please...! Help me...”

Something about Alucard, or this new pony who had taken the place of Alucard, kept Rainbow silent. But through her, she slowly began to connect dots.

‘A different-colored coat...and obvious pain? But when he was screaming, like...wait, he had said that using the Elements wouldn’t work, but then how did this happen? What the hell is that black stuff coming off him? It looks like...looks like...’

Then, deep in her mind, she realized the truth. A truth that hit her so hard, she forced herself to sit down. Suddenly, everything made sense, and unbidden memories played in her mind as a way of proving that truth.

The night they first met. “I'm not from this area – if I told you where, you'd never believe me...”

His offer to improve her skill. “Regardless, I think we both can benefit from this little magic trick...”

The evening in the care center. Along her left side, a growing spot of black and blue was shining. Telltale patterns danced across the surface...

The years spent in hiding. The magic was not settling into Rainbow’s system - it was assimilating it.

Luna drawing the magic out of her. The last of the magic finally drifted away, taking residence in the oily mass before her.

Celestia revealing her delay. “...I hesitated, because he asked me if I was prepared to kill an innocent.”

Alucard recalling his scheme. “...yours was more challenging than most. Of course, it was also more rewarding...”

And Rainbow trying to gain leverage against him. “So you’ve bound to other ponies before?”

The revelation sent her mind reeling. “N...no...” she whispered.

Applejack turned to her friend, desperate for answers. “Rainbow?”

The cyan pegasus found her voice, despite the revelation that shook every belief she held. “I get it.”

“Get what?” Applejack demanded. Their other friends turned and went quiet, just as desperate for answers.

“Alucard was right,” she muttered. “We can’t beat him. We’ve never been able to.”

“What do you mean?!?”

“The perfect defense. He had the perfect-”

“RAINBOW!”

The shout finally got her attention, but she continued to talk. “It makes sense now! We’ve never had a chance of beating him, because he’s never been here.”

Twilight chimed in, unable to share the realization. “What are you talking about? He’s right there!” She pointed an accusing hoof at the white stallion to illustrate her argument.

“That’s not him, Twilight. It’s never been him. Just a part of him!”

“W-what? He...”

“That’s not Alucard!” Rainbow declared, standing and pointing. “Only a piece of him! Just a piece! It’s bound magic!”

All six friends stared at the disturbing sight, studying every detail of the oily substance and terrified alicorn. They were not silent - some choked half-words of denial would sprout before the truth dawned on them, too. Soon, Twilight spoke again, finally wrapping her head around the development.

“He’s...not here? You mean that’s a segment of his soul that’s bound to somepony else? But that, that...”

“That's not possible!” Rarity shouted after her.

Rainbow’s gaze moved, taking in the sight of the ethereal matter. “Think of what he told Celestia. ‘Kill an innocent.’ He’s been using another pony’s body to move and act this whole time!”

Twilight was having the most trouble believing. “But how can...how much of himself did he bind? I’ve never seen magical output like that!”

“It has to be a lot more magic than what I had,” Rainbow Dash explained. “More than just raw magic. There has to be some of him bound, too - his soul, like you said. It’s the only way.”

“Enough to impart his consciousness? Impossible!”

“The magic bound to me forced me to evade some rocks when I tried to fall off a cliff. My actions were forced to keep me alive. If he bound even more power to another, then he would have even more control,” she explained.

“No,” Twilight muttered, shaking her head. “No, no, this can’t be! This defies every law of magic and nature I know!”

But a memory within Twilight silenced her own argument. Luna had told her the same thing about binding magic, and the risks they posed to the caster. Yet here she stood, united against an alicorn who had done that very thing. Bound his magic to an innocent pony, using his very soul as material.

“It’s...unnatural.” she breathed, finally beginning to accept the truth.

Ahead of them, the rippling magic shifted. Tendrils of power snapped down and enveloped the white alicorn in segments. Parts of his upper torso disappeared beneath the power, as did the rest of his forelegs. He frantically tried to push off the invading magic, groaning aloud in his panic.

“Who is he, then?” Rarity demanded. She stared at the unfortunate alicorn, distrusting him on principle. “Just some unlucky passerby? Or did he strike a deal with Alucard, like you had?”

Pinkie shared her gaze. “He looks familiar.”

Rainbow Dash focused on the alicorn’s face, who in turn was swiping his hooves over the oily mass that attempted to reclaim him. Pinkie was right - there were features about him that stood out beyond the obvious, stirring her memory even further. He looked like an older colt she had seen in her younger days. Yet she knew immediately that he wasn’t somepony she knew - he was an alicorn, and the only alicorns she dealt with were the princesses. This stallion seemed from a dream.

“Dream,” Rainbow muttered. “I saw him before I first met Alucard...the night with the band!”

“Oh my gosh, that’s it!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “He was with the band when they came to town! The guy with the guitar that you could feel when he played it!”

The cyan pegasus nodded, understanding. “This is the missing band member!”

The proclaimed truth settled over the six friends, each of them trying and failing to mentally disprove what they had just heard. As a few precious seconds passed by, they all came to accept it.

“Then that means...” Twilight surmised, “...this pony here is just some guy? Just an innocent alicorn?”

The stallion in question looked at the six mares near him, begging for their aid once more. “What’s going on?” he rasped. “This stuff burns! Help me, please!” As he spoke, the dark mass that was actually Alucard claimed more of his body, recovering what was lost.

Applejack’s tail twitched. “We’re wastin’ time. How should we deal with him?”

“I-I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash replied. The revelation had struck her hard.

Her friend turned to face her, her eyes alight with desperation. “We gotta do somethin’, Rainbow Dash! You said you were willin’ to do whatever it took to make things right!”

With a violent shake of her head, the pegasus countered. “That was when we were fighting Alucard! I won’t kill some innocent stallion who has nothing to do with this!”

“But,” Rarity cut in, suspicious, “how can we be sure he has nothing to do with this? Perhaps he chose this path.”

Rainbow shook her head again. “There is no way that he possibly chose this, Rarity.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Just look at him,” she said with another wave of her hoof. “Is he any different than me when you found me in the cave?”

The alabaster unicorn looked between the two, and her defiance halted in her throat. “Y-you’re right...he’s behaving just the same as you...”

‘The same as me,’ Rainbow Dash thought. The words gave her an idea. Better, they gave her a solution. She turned and looked squarely at Rarity, then to Twilight, gauging the glow of their worn Element artifacts. The group was quiet for a moment. Then she turned to look at the struggling stallion and took a few steps toward him.

“Hey!” she called. The alicorn looked up through fearful eyes. “Listen to me! We’re gonna help you, okay? We’re gonna make everything right, but we need your help too!”

Behind her, Rainbow’s friends exchanged glances.

“You need to resist him!” she shouted, pointing toward the sickening mass of darkness. “Fight him as hard as you can! Take back your body, reject him, kick him out!”

Before the white alicorn could reply, more of Alucard’s power snapped down and claimed his forelegs, sending fresh feelings of heat through him. He cried out in pain, then to Rainbow. “Hurry!”

The pegasus nodded and turned back to her friends. They all stared at her, waiting for an explanation.

She was speaking before her hooves stopped moving. “You’re right, Rarity. He’s behaving just like I had. So we need to save him just like Luna saved me. Twilight, I’m gonna need you at your best.”

“Wait, me?” Twilight asked.

“We need to drag out the magic from this other stallion. Unbind it all.”

The unicorn gawked. “You want to unravel the bound magic like Luna did in Ponyville?”

“Exactly. It’s our only choice.”

Twilight’s calm strained to the breaking point. “I can’t do that! Only Luna was able to unravel the magic that was bound to you! I...I never even knew it was possible until she brought it up!”

“This is our last option!” Rainbow shouted, more confident than anxious. “Our Elements will never be enough to beat him, he’s made sure of that. But he can’t possibly prevent himself being removed from a host’s body! We can do what Luna did, and drag him out!”

Rarity nodded. “I understand. Without using a body, Alucard’s stolen magic will fade away. The eclipse will end and the princesses can regain control of the sun and moon!”

Applejack spoke her observation. “This storm o’ his will break up, too, and he won’t be able to send down any more lightning to Canterlot.”

“Everypony will be saved!” Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie said in unison.

“All this,” Rainbow concluded, “without having to kill an innocent pony. This is our last hope!”

The alicorn gave out a howl of pain. He trembled violently as the magic bound to him began to claim his body in earnest. Strands of sickly black swung down and latched to him like the limbs of some hellish spider, pulling down the mass of power.

A second later, the bulk of the magic made contact with the stallion, spreading over him. His howl became muffled grunts as he mentally battled the intruder, determined to assert himself through sheer will alone. He closed his eyes, hiding the terrified blue. When he opened them again, there were traces of steely red.

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash urged.

Twilight Sparkle took a breath through her nostrils, nodding slightly, then once more with more conviction. “I’ll do everything I can!”

That moment was instantly speared by a cry of exertion from behind them. A thin wave of power passed over them, sending their coats standing on-end. They each turned and looked at the source.

Alucard has successfully reclaimed the stallion’s body, but was clearly in distress. He was struggling to rise, heaving ragged breaths through clenched teeth. His mane no longer flowed with power, and was streaked with both white and black colors. His wings had fully changed again, from feathers to membranes - but they, like his mane, were marred by angling white streaks. Most importantly, the colors of his eyes were shifting from red to blue. All clear indicators that Rainbow’s order was being heeded.

“Be silent!” Alucard shouted to himself. The words afforded him precious little more control over his host. His eyes instantly held their red hue, though the rest of him remained in the throes of change.

Rainbow Dash took a step forward. “Alucard!” she shouted. He flicked his gaze toward her, glaring acidly. “We know what you are, now! We know everything! Give up now, and-”

“Just shut up!” he retorted. Spittle and traces of foam flew out of his mouth. “You know nothing! You have nothing! I will not suffer you and your friends thinking you’re above me!”

Rainbow Dash tried again. “You can’t win! We know what you really are, and we’re going to stop you!” Her words were so filled with resolve, they drove more conviction into the remaining five Bearers behind her.

However, Alucard was beyond reason. And his rage was so absolute, he screamed above her. “You! Know! Nothing! If you are so certain you know my power, then witness it yourself!!!”

With a great flash, Alucard drew his magic inward, collecting energy at an alarming rate. His eyes flashed white with power, and dancing jolts of magic began to pool at the tip of his horn. But before he could attack, he lurched forward with a violent heave, his spell breaking and his eyes screwing shut.

“No,” he growled, violently shaking his head. He seemed to be in a battle over his own actions.

Twilight felt the energy in the air shift. “That must be him!” she said. “The other alicorn! He’s fighting against Alucard, breaking his concentration!”

Rainbow gave a stern nod. “He’s giving us openings. Let’s not pass this up!”

As a unit, all six friends leapt forward and flew directly at Alucard. He saw them coming and took to the air, gathering his magic. He twisted and spun his wing in a wide arc, sending a wave of power outward - but while he had meant it to be a solid wall of shield magic, it was merely a veil that stopped nothing.

His own head began to ache from the other stallion’s attempts to gain control. Fury took him, and he shouted incoherently to himself. He was no longer in control over the body and mind, and the interference caused by the white alicorn was enough to cut off much of his raw ability. He cradled his head and flew blind for a moment, incapable of calming himself.

The Bearers of Harmony seized their chance. The two unicorns in the group fired off attack spells, catching him along his side. Applejack bore down on him as she had done before, grabbing one of his wings and weighing him down. The remaining three flew close, but did not make a move for fear of getting in the way.

Alucard roared, wresting control just long enough to gather his power. The darkness of his coat rippled and surged, protecting him from the projectiles of Twilight and Rarity. At the same time, white lines of telepathy magic shocked Applejack violently, forcing her grip to fail. She slid off and caught air on her magical wings, but had her back turned to the alicorn, who took his chance.

He spun and dove, catching her beneath his chest and wrapping his forelegs around her. She screamed as the magic within his coat burned her again, but managed to twist around and gain some purchase against him. She lashed out with tooth and hoof, flailing and striking at every inch of him she could reach. A lucky blow caused his grip to falter, and she started to spin away.

“You will be still!” he shouted, shoving her flank and spinning in the opposite direction. She spun in midair for a moment before he struck again, this time with a fierce kick. He bucked hard, catching her left foreleg just above the knee with a brutal force, multiplied by their opposing directions. A fracture was immediate.

Applejack shrieked, knocked away by the force of the hit. She fell like a brick to the cloud layer blow, landing hard on her side among a plume of billowy fog. She fought against unconsciousness through willpower alone, unable to tear her gaze away from the sight. Her foreleg at the knee was bent in the wrong direction, and a shard of bone was jostled out of alignment, forming a bulge beneath her coat. Incredible pain radiated from the area, leaving her with nothing else to feel. She cried out in agony.

Alucard sensed his opening, and angled down to deliver a finishing blow - but Rainbow Dash was there, intercepting him like an enraged bull, much how she had done earlier. She crashed into his body, forcing him away from her prone friend. She, too, cried out in agony, but it was laced with blind rage.

Rarity and Fluttershy touched down and rushed to their injured friend’s aid. “Applejack!!!” they called.

Applejack, with great effort, turned her gaze away from her immobilized arm to look upon the fight. She knew how lucky she was that Rainbow Dash had so quickly risen to her defense. But with a broken foreleg, she would be of little use.

She shook off the hooves of her friends. “Go!” she commanded weakly. “Help her! Finish this while we still can!”

Rarity and Fluttershy exchanged worried glances, but heeded the words after a heartbeat. Applejack remained on her side, fighting the pain and the overwhelming urge to close her eyes.

In the air, Alucard pushed away from Rainbow Dash with a wild blast of lightning. He spun mid-air and exuded telepathy magic, intent on breaking their focus. The ponies immediately felt a wave of unbearable heat spear through their temples.

But the Bearers of Harmony did not stop. In fact, the sight of Applejack injured seemed to spur them on, giving them strength to overcome his attack. The five remaining mares flew up and approached him from different angles, their glowing Elements leaving white wake trails.

Alucard, seeing the five motes of light approaching, drew in his wings and dived. Four of the ponies overshot him, passing through the spot where he was only a moment ago - but the fifth one, Rainbow Dash, spiraled downward and matched his angle. She flew hard, overtaking his speed.

With a grunt, the black alicorn changed directions again, cutting her off before she could reach him. He rotated face-up and gathered his magic, aiming a lance of lightning directly at her heart. For the first time since his secret was discovered, his magic fired off with proper power. Rainbow barely dodged the attack, her wing tips mere inches from the energy.

But something happened then that Alucard did not intend. A sudden blunt force struck him from below, at his back, stopping his flight cold. He spun around with a wing extended, but met nothing - whoever had struck him had deftly evaded him. And as he spun around, a second blow caught him in the side, sending him reeling.

The mares had abandoned magical assault and were instead trying to overpower him physically. He wouldn’t stand for it. As he saw one of the Bearers approach for a third strike, he tapped into his ill-gotten magic and expanded an aura of shield energy. But it, as before, was tainted with the consciousness of the other stallion. It, as before, did nothing to stop the five friends.

So he exuded a second wave, rotating and diving to the cloud layer as he did so. The additional shell of magic finally kept the Bearers as a distance, but they all pushed against his shield. Adding a third spell, he imbued the shield protecting him with white lines of telepathy magic. The jagged patterns shot out and stabbed at the five friends as they all went down to the cloud layer.

The barrier contacted the clouds below, and he landed on all fours within his shell. Alucard continued to imbibe the shield spell with his natural magic, pumping as much energy as he could. Within his protection, he glared at the five mares. His hatred of them all was palpable.

Rainbow bashed a hoof against the surface of the barrier, earning a sharp sting in reward. She swore aloud before turning her head. “Twilight!” she called.

The lavender unicorn narrowed her eyes and expanded her magic as well, knowing what was needed without being told. A narrow line of violet power shot from her horn and struck the shield magic, beginning to spread across the surface. It was immediately met with intrusive lines of white, which followed the energy back to the source. In no time at all, the telepathy attacked her horn itself. Great flashes of white-hot agony began to course across Twilight’s vision as the magic invaded her. She broke away on instinct, cradling her head and crying out in pain.

With her magic broken, the lines of white that had attacked her vanished along with her spell. But the pain lingered. She groaned and shook her head, trying to banish the torment. A second later, she felt the presence of her friends at her sides.

“We’re with you,” came Rainbow’s voice next to her ear. “We’re here for you, just as you all were there for me. Don’t give up, Twilight! Don’t break away!”

The words spurred action in the unicorn, who gathered her courage and magic once more. She fired off her magic again, this time forming a wider beam of power. As before, it contacted and spread across the surface of the barrier, and as before, it was instantly met with white dancing patterns. It took even less time for the telepathy to attack her senses. Tears sprang to her eyes as her system was directly assaulted. It was an entirely new kind of torture than what she had suffered in Ponyville.

‘My friends are with me,’ she thought. That fact gave her strength, even as her scream pierced the sky. ‘Rainbow Dash is back with us. She needs my help. I can help her. I need to help her!’

With the warmth of four other bodies pressing against her, Twilight opened her eyes and looked at the contact point of her magic. Sparks of lavender power flew in reaction to the barrier, and the beam she had created was infested with the horrible patterns. She mentally pushed against the invading agony, and her magic expanded a little further.

Alucard gave a demented growl, pushing his own willpower in response. The shield spell darkened to a nightmarish hue. But the extra protection came with a cost. As he focused his magic, he gave up a little control over his body, and the reds of his eyes became jagged with shards of blue.

A heartbeat later, he flinched. A severe sense of nausea overcame him, and he fought the urge to retch. The magic of his barrier held, affording him the protection he needed. However, he realized too late that the patterns of his telepathy had completely disappeared.

Sounds of toil rent the space above him. He looked up at the point of contact between Twilight’s magic and his own, grimacing as a ball of white light began to form. He could feel the essence of harmony emanating from the light.

Twilight gave a great cry of exertion. The searing pain of telepathy had vacated her mind, leaving her own magic unhindered. She threw her forelegs forward, and heard her friends match her shout with their own. As she pushed outward with her body, so too did she with her magic, slicing through the barrier as she had done the last one.

The magical reaction was quick - web-thin strands of lavender power cut across the shield in star patterns. As each pattern connected, segments of the shield shattered into innumerable pieces. The ethereal shards were cast into every direction, passing through the bodies of everypony nearby. Stagnant chills were felt instead of cuts. However, the shards that connected with the clouds tore through them, leaving jagged holes in their wake.

The small white light expanded and burned the stallion’s retinas, striking him with a force as physical as any shove. He fell backward with a cry of shock, sliding along the clouds for a few feet. As quickly as the light had flared, it faded from existence, but still he grunted with the sensation of blindness. A moment passed before the darkness of his coat began to ripple and shift like liquid. Alucard’s hold was weakened.

Seizing the chance, Rainbow Dash and her remaining friends flew down and landed around the prone body. The sensation of their landing caused Alucard’s eyes to snap open. He looked up at the surrounding Bearers of Harmony, his eyes far more blue than red.

Rainbow jumped forward and landed over him, placing each of her hooves around his body. She caught his gaze, and looked deep into it. Within the eyes, she clearly saw the internal battle for dominion, as well as fear that would never have been present in Alucard.

She knew that fear well. It was fear of the unknown, a fear in which she had been lost for four years. She knew on instinct that the pony below her was the innocent who Alucard had controlled for several years. For this brief moment, his control was broken, and the opportunity was fleeting.

“Sorry,” she told him. “This is gonna hurt.”

Without waiting for a response, she turned her head and gave a shout. “Twilight! Now!” A heartbeat passed before a violet light shone to her side, drawing the alicorn’s gaze. The light was blinding, yet he couldn’t shut his eyes - the sheer brilliance of it seemed to overtake his instincts, accepting the luminous presence and whatever it brought along.

Twilight Sparkle braced herself and concentrated, pushing out with every last ounce of strength she possessed. She repeated the fact that her friends were with her, giving her strength and courage. The overwhelming sense of dedication that was Rainbow Dash drove her power forward. She didn’t know what would happen. What she did know was that to hesitate now would mean disaster.

To her sides, the Elements of Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, and Kindness all glowed with exponential light. Their power added to Magic’s own. Soon after, a final glow from Honesty appeared from behind them. Applejack was straining her neck and uninjured foreleg to try and be with her friends, grimacing as incredible pain from her bones lanced through her.

The combined might of all the Elements working together allowed Twilight’s tiara to multiply her natural power even further. Her senses sharpened beyond what she had thought possible. She opened her eyes, the power of Magic overtaking them and causing them to go white. Twilight stared directly at the alicorn...and then through him, passing beyond the sight of physical bodies and mental walls. Her sight passed through an unnerving tunnel of color, impossible to describe beyond terrible beauty. Time seemed to stand still, and yet it surged forward. She felt out of breath, yet knew she was breathing.

As the sensations assailed her, the wild thought of a pony’s soul being a realm unto itself crossed her mind. The thought left her as she came upon a fantastic sight. Before her was an impossibly large sphere, rotating slowly in an unseen current. Both a radiant white glow and an abyssal darkness made up the sphere, and the entire thing hummed with incredible presence. While rays of the white’s glow shone across the expanse, the black areas seemed to ripple and shift. Beyond the sphere were ghostly images of mountain ranges, unfamiliar to Twilight.

She hesitated, awestruck by the sight. Twilight Sparkle was beholding the very soul of a pony for the first time, and it was far more impressive than anything she could have imagined. Even the fact that part of it was Alucard’s soul did not deter her appreciation of its sheer scale. But the unfamiliarity of it was undeniable - she didn’t know what to do, now that she was seeing this wonderful horror. Luna had been the one to handle the magnitude of this magic, but Twilight had only watched. The first signs of panic began to shake the edges of her psyche.

The sphere seemed to sense her intrusion, and a low growl began to reverberate across the expanse. The sound stifled her senses, and it took all her willpower to not back out the way she had come. A shade began to spread from the dark areas of the sphere, like a night approaching far too quickly. Then jagged lines of white, in the familiar patterns she feared, began to form at the edges of the expanse. They did not approach her, but instead kept to the edges of her sight, like they were mocking her in their dance.

She cast her vision around as her panic grew. Trapped in a dark area, surrounded on all sides by the terrifying lines - just as she had been seven days before. The feeling of suffocation grew stronger as the unwanted memory surged forth. Apparently the segment of Alucard’s soul had sensed the distress, because the omnipresent growl intensified. It sounded far beyond enraged.

Twilight’s vision went forward again, looking at the bi-colored sphere - and something caught her attention. A single mote of light glowed brighter on the white area of the sphere, more radiant than the rest. It felt familiar to her, and she instinctively moved toward it. For reasons she couldn’t describe, the light seemed to give off a calming aura. In this unknown realm, the light was welcoming.

She reached the light and allowed it to envelop her magical vision. The stark white of the light became the only thing she could see - Twilight found herself in an area devoid of color whatsoever. There were no dancing patterns, no ghostly mountain ranges, no shadows expanding around her...

“Who are you?”

A chill came over her. ‘There’s somepony here?!?’

Twilight’s vision spun around in shock - how quickly, she couldn’t gauge. She looked around, and found the source of the sudden voice. A ghostly visage of Rainbow Dash was before her, but she looked slightly different. Specifically, she looked younger and her mane and tail were shorter, like they had been in the years before Alucard had bound his magic to her.

This Rainbow Dash cocked her head to one side, considering the violet presence that had just arrived. “You seem familiar...” Her mouth hadn’t moved while she spoke, yet the words seemed projected from her like a speaker.

Twilight found her voice, or what passed as her voice in this unknown realm. It sounded like her, but the words were spoken as soon as her thoughts formed, and they weren’t spoken as much as broadcast aloud. She, like the pegasus in front of her, spoke without speaking and had her voice projected. “Rainbow Dash? You’re...what? How are you here?!?”

Rainbow’s confused stare deepened. “Rainbow Dash? Who is that?”

Twilight didn’t reply, but returned the same confused feeling.

The cyan pegasus, despite appearing half-solid, took very lifelike steps toward Twilight. She spoke without moving her mouth again. “Something about you seems so familiar. I wonder...can you show me what you are?”

Rainbow reached out a foreleg, which was actively using the white patterns of telepathy.

Twilight realized the patterns too late. She tried to “jump” back in her ethereal state, a very real panic gripping her heart...but when contact was made between her and this pegasus, there were no feelings of agonizing pain. Flashes of white emptiness still came and went, as they usually did when a new presence invaded her mind. The difference was that this time, it wasn’t forceful or consuming. Rather, it expanded and viewed what was available without claiming anything or leaving anything behind. While the lines Twilight was used to would dance in jagged patterns, this one flowed gracefully.

After a few seconds (or it could have been instantaneous), Rainbow pulled away. When Twilight’s vision focused on her again, the confused look was gone. In its place was a jubilant smile.

“I know you!” Rainbow projected. “Magic, my friend! It’s been so long since I’ve felt your touch!”

Twilight would have moaned in confusion had she been able to. “I’m sorry, what?” she asked. “What do you mean, Rainbow?”

The pegasus-phantom shook her head gently. “I’m not this Rainbow Dash you know, though I understand your confusion. It’s because I’m wielded by your Bearer's pony friend that I look this way to you.”

“Then if you’re not Rainbow Dash, who are you?”

“Magic, you do not recognize me?” The pegasus lifted her foreleg again, this time without using any trace of telepathy, and touched her own neck just above her chest. A soft cloud-and-bolt pattern emerged on her body, connected by a line of golden light. “I am Loyalty, a part of Harmony that has stood alongside you with the rest of our friends since our discovery centuries ago.”

Twilight paused. “Loyalty? You’re...an Element of Harmony?”

The pegasus’s smile shifted a little, becoming sadder. “Well, I am...but not completely.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Oh, Magic...you’ve always tried to understand everything around you. It’s your greatest trait,” Loyalty mused aloud. “I am Loyalty, but not all of it. I was coaxed and imprisoned by a terrifying shade some time ago, who I believe is this Alucard you’re fighting.”

Twilight’s gasp wasn’t heard, but would not have been out of place. “How do you know about...”

“I saw everything I needed to see, my friend. I know you’re wielded by a unicorn pony named Twilight Sparkle, and that you are embroiled in a great struggle against an evil not local to her homeland. I also saw what this Alucard has done to her friends and her home. It truly is frightening; I’m sorry I cannot be there with you.”

In her own mind, Twilight was still beset with wonder and confusion. Yet the figure before her resembled a younger, healthier Rainbow Dash, and the entire area was still comforting. In spite of her questions, she felt her instincts relax around this blue pegasus. Somehow, she knew this figure wasn’t lying.

“Alright, then,” Twilight broadcast, deciding to give in to trust. “If you’re a part of Loyalty, then why are you here? Where is here, anyway?”

Loyalty nodded in understanding. “I believe we’re within a part of the white alicorn your wielder saw earlier this evening. The one who called for your help.”

“And you?”

“I am here...well, I’m still not sure how.” She turned her head to the side, recalling memories of bygone days. “As I said, I was imprisoned by a deep darkness some time ago. It surrounded me and separated me from the rest of my being. Try as I might, I could not reconnect with the rest of me. But recently, I felt my prison moving, shifting away from what I was. There was a sensation of being chased, then of panic...but after that, a great sense of ambition overcame the darkness that had captured me.”

Loyalty took a moment to narrow her eyes in discontent. “The feelings were not my own. They were evil. Feelings of maleficence came from all around.” She raised her head a bit, facing Twilight’s vision. “But soon after that, I was discovered by this bright and comforting area we’re in now. And now that I’ve seen the truths you have learned, I think I understand what is happening.”

“Hold on, you were surrounded and cut off from the rest of you?”

The ghostly pegasus nodded. “I cannot explain why...but perhaps your friend can later. It’s something to do with the dark one’s plan.”

“Rainbow did say something about the Elements not being able to beat Alucard,” Twilight recalled. “Well, alright then. Listen, we have a plan to stop him from destroying our home, but I am really overwhelmed. Is there any way you can help?”

Loyalty’s smile grew, showing an air of confidence behind it. “I believe I can. You’re looking to exorcise the portion of your enemy’s soul from the innocent alicorn he has overtaken, correct?”

“That’s right, but I have no idea how to do it!”

“You can learn properly one day, Magic - it’s in your nature. Yes, I can help you. I have learned that Alucard craves power, yet counts himself a god. He will not stand to having your essence here with his own. I wager that once you leave this area we’re in, he’ll try to attack you and consume you.”

Twilight’s vision shook with what would pass as apprehension. “I’d like to avoid that.”

“You will,” Loyalty reassured. “You can exude your natural power as you leave - let it flow through you shapelessly. He will have no choice but to follow. But while he is doing that, I can use what power I still have to push him out as well, making sure he cannot return.”

“How will that help?”

“As he chases you down, I will do what I can to help the white alicorn reclaim what is rightfully his. He and I will work together to drive Alucard out and away, closing the doors from behind him, so to speak. Alucard won’t be able to grab hold of the innocent stallion the way he did. At the same time, you escape this area with the help of our friends, and return to the unicorn who has earned your power. I will push Alucard while you pull, and together we can expel his presence from this alicorn’s soul.”

“Okay, okay,” Twilight projected, understanding. “Then what should I do to save you?”

To her surprise, Loyalty shook her head. “I’m afraid you cannot.”

“What?”

“I have been severed from myself, Magic. As I was being pulled away from the rest of me, I fought hard to remain, but could not. What I am now is just a portion of what I once was. Besides, the one who wields me is stronger now - I saw that she has learned more about me while I was not a part of her.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “You came back to her! In the palace throne room...I saw it!”

Loyalty shook her head again. “Not all of me made it back.”

Twilight wanted to argue, but at that moment, strands of dark energy began to seep into the white area. She looked around in panic, fearful of the sudden change. A resounding growl began to reverberate through the space. Alucard was beginning to assert control over the host’s body again.

The ghostly image of Loyalty looked up as the changes occurred. “You’re running out of time. Go on, my friend. You and the rest of our friends can save everyone!”

Twilight looked back at the pegasus, who was looking back with a sad yet determined grin. “Okay, I’ll try!” she broadcast, tapping deep into her reserves of magic. As she had been told, Twilight allowed her power to expand freely, flowing without shape. She became a beacon that Alucard’s power instantly recognized.

The vibrating growls intensified. Twilight backed away from Loyalty, leaving the way she had entered. She passed beyond the glowing mote of light, and steadily put distance between her vision and the magnificent sphere.

“One last thing,” came Loyalty’s voice. Twilight looked back at the shining ball of light. “Tell your pegasus friend that I’m sorry. I think I may have hurt her recently, when I tried to stay with her.”

It had not been the dark magic that had burned Rainbow Dash’s neck, but her spirit of Loyalty itself, done in a desperate attempt to remain whole. Twilight called back her understanding. “I will!”

Then the shine of that light expanded beyond a simple mote, spreading along the white areas of the titanic sphere. The glow intensified to blinding factors, and the darkness that had latched onto it began to react violently. An inner war of dominion was waged. Great black lances of Alucard’s power dislodged from the white soul, drawn to the irresistible power of Twilight Sparkle. They arced and dove for her essence, accompanied by the growl that came from everywhere at once.

Twilight ducked and evaded the lances as best she could, continuing her backwards journey to her friends. She began to hear their voices calling to her, giving her courage and support from the physical realm. She drew closer to her friends, hearing her own grunts of exertion poxed with the occasional shriek. The natural pull of the remaining Elements guided her, but she could not tear her sight away from the black pillars that reached for her.

Above the clouds, where the Bearers were huddled together, a set of clashing hums began to ring out into the air. A multicolored ribbon of metaphysical power emerged from around Twilight, its glow expanding past everypony. The power lifted them all off the cloud layer, allowing them to hover without moving.

At the same time, a similar waving band seeped out and circled around the stallion, this one a black deep enough to swallow light. As it rotated, the darkness of his coat shuddered and roiled. It began to lift off his body in rivulets, forming a rippling sphere a few feet above him. Each passing second saw more of the antimatter converging into the ball.

Twilight’s enhanced vision continued to retreat, her natural power marking herself a target. The attacks from the dark lances grew ever closer, and most of it had joined into a wide beam that chased her down. Feral panic ate at Twilight’s senses as she neared her own body. The two essences were very nearly touching, and she began to feel a deadening chill within her own phyche.

“NO!” she shrieked.

On instinct, she pulled back the rest of her magic, her eyes receding to their natural color as she did so. A phantom image of Alucard’s magic was burned into her sight, and she physically recoiled. However, when she tried to flail, she was held firmly on either side by her friends, who had not abandoned her. They each had their eyes open as well, and were all staring at the same point ahead of them.

Twilight’s gaze matched theirs, and she saw it. The darkness of the stallion’s coat had completely left his body, and the resulting sphere of power shook violently. It towered above them all, far larger than any siphon spell he had previously created. Ghostly images of black lightning, red irises, and white patterns of telepathy magic appeared and faded by the dozen. The deep growling hadn’t stopped, and in fact seemed to shake the very world.

Then suddenly, the ribbons of energy shifted. The one surrounding Twilight and her grouped friends broke off, switched orientation, and reconnected itself in front of them. It resumed its rapid rotation, the hum it gave off much louder and more reassuring. It created an ethereal barrier that was at once finite yet shapeless. It was magic without form, granted by the unity of Harmony working as one.

Alucard’s own broke off as well, but instead of moving between him and the mare’s own, it took place behind the rippling sphere that was his bound magic. One end connected to the rest of him, and then the ribbon split into tendrils of power, each one utterly replete with lethal black electricity. The tendrils expanded and curled around, waving in angry anticipation, like a nest of snakes poised to strike.

The magical glow of the six Elements pooled together into one, forming at the edge of Magic’s inlain symbol. Each of the Elements’ glows faded, having poured the last ounces of their Bearers’ energy into the light. It shot forward, closing the distance between the hovering mares and the multicolored barrier, where it placed itself in the center and began to glow all the brighter.

Alucard’s hypnotic tendrils moved at the same moment, tensing and firing off toward the light. Each ribbon became as lightning, and each contact point was accompanied with the cracks of thunder. Sparks of magic from either side flew randomly, touching the bodies of anypony nearby. The areas where the sparks landed instantly felt either warm or numb, depending on what manner of magic fell upon them.

The eyes of the six mares were fixed upon the point. This was the last that they could do. Everything they had was placed into that light. The clashing hums of each magic grew louder and louder, to the point where the glass and crystal of the city below began to shake in protest. The power of either magic was being consumed at an alarming rate, but nopony could make a move. They were forced to watch, petrified, as the opposing essences waged open war.

Alucard’s magic, which had been enhanced and provided by his eclipse, began to break up. The power that held the clouds together started to seep upward, like acid rain falling in the wrong direction. They did not rise very far, but floated and remained still at various heights, turning the entire area into a wicked maze of magic.

The ribbon of power that protected the paragons drew in on itself, giving all it had to the ball of light set within its center. The black magic of the pariah surged forth with newfound vigor, and one final bolt of lightning joined the fray. The glow of the first became blinding, the darkness of the other became abyssal, and the hums of either became as shrieks torn from the very world. A smell of burnt ozone wafted forth, leaving the taste of bitter copper on the tongues of the mares. Hairs on their pelts stood on end. And the unblinking eclipse saw it all.

Alucard’s voice rent the air, disembodied and wavering. His proclamation joined the shrieks of both magics, just as shapeless and endless.

“YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME - YOU CANNOT DEFEAT WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW - HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ME - NO MATTER WHAT YOU TRY YOU CANNOT PROVE ANYTHING HERE - MY DESTINY LIES ELSEWHERE - YOUR MASTERS WILL KNOW OF MY STRENGTH - A GOD IS BEFORE YOU AND YET YOU DEFY ME - HARMONY IS AN ILLUSION TO LEAD YOU ASTRAY - YOU HAVE NOTHING - YOU HAVE NOTHING - YOU HAVE NOTHING!!!”

Rainbow managed to crane her neck, inching a little closer to the blinding light. She replied.

“We have everything we need.”

Then a flash from the magics put an end to the sounds and assaulted senses and even the ability to measure time.

A clear, spherical wall expanded for hundreds of yards, banishing the floating spots of magic that had risen from the clouds. In their place, shining specks of light took form, their glows rising to a pinnacle and then fading from existence. Following the wall came rings of color, pulsing off in sets and different angles. When one of those rings contacted a body, that body was violently pushed away and landed in a heap on the cloud layer. Each of the hovering mares was struck and sent sprawling, their cries of shock cutting off only because they did not fall far.

One such ring contacted both Rainbow Dash and Alucard at the same time. While she was physically knocked aside, he could not move from where he was. However, the energy tore through whatever senses he still commanded, and he gave a very real shout of pain. The sphere that made up his body trembled in the throes of agony, letting loose weak bolts of lightning higher into the sky. His voice rang out in place of the earlier shrieks of magic, much louder than any of his thunderclaps.

A violent reaction from the warring spells gave off a burst of energy, and the sheer weight of that energy invaded the senses of everypony. Suddenly they felt sick and itchy, with the sensations of drowning and falling causing their stomachs to lurch. They each shut their eyes and tried to outlast the experience, but the sensation proved too much, and one by one, they lost consciousness. The last thing they saw was Alucard, his body nothing but a sphere of magic and soul, trembling in the throes of his fury.

They did not, however, see him die.

Finally, after what felt like an age, the magic from either spell gave out entirely. They had each consumed the other. A final burst of translucent light emerged from the contact point. That burst of light passed over each of the six Bearers like silk, caressing their bodies with a touch that was surprisingly soft. The touch left them all feeling tranquil, almost disembodied, and nopony spoke. It would be more accurate to say nothing moved - no breaths, no attempts to stand, nothing whatsoever. The endeavor had completely sapped them of everything except their heartbeats.

The magical wings gifted by Princess Luna were flickering rapidly, their essence dying in the wake of the warring spells. The six Bearers all lay still atop the dark clouds, their minds blank and bodies still. If the magical wings faded completely, the four mares gifted with them would fall through the clouds. Even so, the energy of Twilight’s magic, which had destroyed Alucard’s barrier earlier, had started a reaction in the clouds themselves - holes had begun to form, and were growing larger at an alarming rate. It would only take a few short minutes before Canterlot would see the sky again, and then a few minutes more before the clouds were consumed entirely.

One way or another, it meant that the ponies atop the clouds would fall to the city below unless they managed to recover.

It was nearly a full minute before a movement was made, during such time the splits in the clouds grew. Rainbow Dash’s eyes shot open, realizing quickly that half of her vision was obscured. She had landed stomach-down on the cloud layer, her limbs sprawled haphazardly, her head angled down toward the clouds. Her mind methodically paced forward, coming to terms with what had happened.

She mentally sent commands to move, which went ignored. The most she could do was move her eyes across what she could see; otherwise, she was completely immobilized.

Had Alucard been destroyed in the blast? She couldn’t be sure - everything had happened so quickly. When she had last looked toward where his bound magic was floating, it was trembling violently. But she hadn’t actually seen it get destroyed by the energy, and she wanted so badly to be certain.

Rainbow tried to fight a little longer, going against the invasive feeling of tranquility that seeped into her being from all corners. She wanted to look skyward and see if Alucard was still there. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to stand, to fly, and to just keep laying there in the darkness of the eclipse.

In front of her, a glimmer of light caught her attention. Applejack was struggling, desperately trying to stand despite her injury. She was on her back, lopsided, her body angled away from Rainbow’s own. Strained groans of effort broke the silence around them, and the ethereal glow of her magical wings flared and flickered.

Pushing against the tranquility, Rainbow found strength enough to speak. “Applejack...” she murmured.

The farm mare lacked the strength to turn herself over, but was able to reply after a moment of trying anyway. “Is-is that you? ...Rainbow Dash?”

“Yeah...” she wheezed, mentally warding off the desire to sleep. “Yeah, it’s me.”

The two of them went silent for a moment, neither sure of what exactly they wanted to say. Rainbow strained to look up, barely catching the glimpses of the rest of her friends spread out in a jagged line. It seemed that only the two of them were conscious.

“Applejack, can...can you see him?”

After a pause, Applejack redoubled her efforts to move. When those failed, she focused on twisting her neck around to acquire a good angle. She caught sight of the stallion, who was also still, and looked to the air above him. The tension on her neck made it hard to breathe, but she didn’t want to waste this chance.

“See anything?” Rainbow pried.

Applejack relaxed and allowed her neck to fall back again, sucking in a deep breath at the same moment. “No,” she said, quieter after the strain. “There’s nothin’ up there.”

Rainbow’s first instinct was to check for herself, but her body was still unresponsive to her willingness to move. She began to feel a shift in temperature at her back - the holes in the clouds were growing fast, and the open space below was greeting her like a lost friend. She groaned in her effort, gaining nothing for her troubles.

“Did we do it?” Applejack asked. She had stopped trying to roll over, sensing that she wouldn’t make any progress. “Did we win?”

At that moment, Rainbow double-checked her thoughts. She couldn’t personally see if Alucard was there, but the Bearer of Honesty had just told her he wasn’t. That was worth taking at face value. And if Alucard was beaten, if he was gone from Equestria...then Rainbow Dash didn’t need to keep fighting.

When the king is conquered, the pawns can rest. ‘Isn’t that how the game is played?’ she thought.

Slowly, Rainbow stopped pushing against the tranquil feelings entering her mind from all sides. As the new sensation came over her, she identified with what she felt. Calm, assurance, and even lingering regret rose to the surface of her being. And pride was there, as well - the same pride that had been exploited four years ago, now emerging as a reward for her hard-earned victory. Because this was a victory. It had to be.

She smiled. ‘I never liked chess. Too slow.’

Taking a deep, reassuring breath, she finally spoke again. “Yeah,” she said, her voice quiet and strong, just like her virtue. “We did it.”

She didn’t realize that she had been crying.

Nearby, Applejack released a long breath. “Ah never...gave up on you, Rainbow... You know that, right?”

The victorious tranquility grew, and with it, the silent crying. “I know.”

The flickering of the magical wings became violent, alternating between seen and unseen several dozen times a second. Applejack’s seemed to be blinking the fastest, and her breathing began to speed up as well. It was the first sign of actual panic she had shown during the entire affair. This time, she had started to realize that there was no way out.

The magic of her wings finally reached its end, and she spoke again. Her voice was quiet, saddened, and filled with regret at the knowledge it implied. “Apple Bloom...your sister loves you...”

Her wings completely faded, and Applejack fell through the clouds with a soft whoosh.

The sight of her friend falling seemed to enhance the agonizing tranquility Rainbow felt. She shut her eyes tight, unwilling to look upon the empty space where the orange mare had lain only seconds ago. As she defied the sight before her, she became more aware of the empty space at her back, and the subtle tug of gravity as the edge grew ever nearer.

‘It’s not fair,’ she thought. ‘I was supposed to pay the price to win. My friends shouldn’t need to suffer because of me.’

Her ears twitched as another sound assailed her. Whoosh. She instinctively knew that a second body had fallen through the clouds, devoid of any magic to hold them aloft.

‘Is this the price of being loyal? Have I...did I bring this loyalty back to my friends when I went back to Ponyville?’

Two more of the horrifying sounds met her, and she finally opened her eyes. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle were all missing - Fluttershy was the only other one left, and was rapidly shifting forwards as a hole in the clouds caused her to list. Her face showed the same tranquility, easing her into a deeper rest.

‘If I helped my friends become loyal again, then...I’m happy. We were together again, at least, in times as bad as this. Maybe...maybe the thing about sacrifice is that doesn’t need to be held by one pony alone.’

Rainbow’s body slid backward, and she felt pressure along her forelegs as gravity pulled at her. Fluttershy was suffering a similar dilemma, and it was a short moment later that she silently fell through the rapidly growing tears in the clouds. The sound of her fluttering feathers caught in the air rose up, swiftly faded, and then silence became Rainbow Dash’s only companion.

‘I just...I wish I could have made things right.’

The space in the clouds finally stole her support on them. Rainbow slid backwards and fell, her body facing upward. Her world became a mess of loud winds and the sensation of having her limbs pulled away. She had stopped crying, but tears continued to escape her.

It was at that moment that Rainbow finally saw it. A faint glimmer of incredible light, arcing in the sky, far above the limits of any pegasus. The size of the light expanded, spreading a rapid warmth through everything it touched. As the light reached the manifested clouds of Alucard storm, it broke through and began to dissolve them as though it were fire on a sheet of ice.

Rainbow blinked as she saw the light reclaiming what was stolen from it. She knew it was the sun, appearing curved and partial as the eclipse died, yet growing fuller as the moon was coaxed away from it. As the welcome light finally spread over Rainbow’s falling form, she felt the warmth of that light like the embrace of a blanket or the splash of summer rain.

She let that warmth permeate her, meeting and joining the horrible tranquility. Together - the warmth, the sight of her victory, and the tranquility, the price that victory was costing her - grew and engulfed her every fiber, spreading quickly and leaving only peace in its wake.

Rainbow drew in a shaky breath, noticing the sound of the rushing air growing quieter. Shadows ate at her sight, and her vision began to tunnel. Left with only her thoughts, she made a decision.

She decided that, even if things had not been perfect, she had made things right. Because the life she had led before meeting Alucard was wonderful, but not perfect...yet it was right in every way. And if giving her home back the imperfect day it so cherished and took for granted was the right thing to do, then this was, undeniably, what she had wanted. What she had needed.

Her smile expanded slightly as she lost herself in the absolute peace she now felt. Slowly, she gave up her fight to remain awake, too. ‘The sky is...beautiful...’

Going completely limp, Rainbow’s body began to tilt backwards, her head angling toward the distant ground. Her eyes barely remained open against the air, and several tears were stolen away, claimed by the evening sky. Her vision swam, becoming a tunnel of blended colors. The last vestiges of consciousness began to seep away from her as she fell, yet not once did her sad smile fade. There was a victory won that day. It wasn’t perfect, but it was right.

The sound of rushing wind faded. A great shadow claimed her.

Silence.

Author’s comments: I am so sorry it’s taken this long to get this one out. I have no excuses. Just know that this chapter has been on my mind since the story’s conception two years ago, and I sincerely hope I’ve done it justice. No matter what I may feel, this chapter alone has set new milestones for me - I have never written twenty-thousand words for a single entry before, and never before has it felt so right.

If anyone has questions about the twists and resolutions found here, you are welcome to ask me. I’ll answer everything I can.

Next chapter: In the wake of the wishmaster’s storm, the grand city of Canterlot is left to deal with the fallout. Homes and lives have been lost, and the price to keep the rest of either safe has to be paid. Who now can shoulder the burden of responsibility? The players involved must still walk through the wake of the storm, and its up to them to decide how to move on.