Fluttershy whimpered quietly as she witnessed the destruction of Canterlot. Matrixwing pulled her back into a hug so that she could no longer watch it. "We have to-" Matrixwing faltered for a second, then regained his composure. The fear he was feeling on the verge of overwhelming, as if an extra pair of weights had been laid upon his chest, pressed as hard as possible. All instinct told him to cut and fly.
But he knew in his soul that he had to take Fluttershy and get them both into Canterlot Castle. He attempted to speak again: "We have to get to the castle, I'm sure that's where everypony else is." Fluttershy just nodded, her emotions making it difficult for her to speak.
Matrixwing felt Fluttershy trembling, and immediately pulled her closer in an attempt to reassure her. He succeeded, and Fluttershy gradually calmed down. Then, he saw something out of the corner of his eye move. It was fast and blurred in his peripheral vision...
What happened next was hard for even Matrixwing himself to explain. It was if the world went into slow motion when Matrixwing grabbed Fluttershy and pulled her close to him. Where Fluttershy was hovering a second before, a black bolt of magic exploded. He dived to dodge a few more bolts as he carried Fluttershy lower, into the black smoke that hung around Canterlot.
"Hang on!" Matrixwing, and he darted towards the castle, a blur in the essence of the darkness. He pushed himself, straining in agony as he folded and unfolding his wings to dodge every bolt of dark energy that sought he and Fluttershy out.
At last, Matrixwing saw the enormous doors to the throne room of the castle, and he felt vigor. He sped towards the doors as quickly as possible, ignoring the screaming Fluttershy he held in his arms and the explosions bursting around his ears. He got closer and closer with every flap of his powerful wings. Thirty feet... Twenty feet... Ten...
The next thing that Matrixwing could remember was he finding himself on his side, with Fluttershy holding him tightly against her breasts, tears streaming down her face. She gasped as his eyes fluttered open, revealing those gray irises with purple mood lightning (she realized later that it meant confusion). "Matrixwing! Are... you ok?"
Matrixwing stared into those Mountain Meadow eyes, and spoke: "I am now." Fluttershy blushed and hugged him even tighter, and this time Matrixwing hugged her back. Fluttershy the heard a cough from behind her: a crowd of survivors had grown quiet as they watched this.
"Sorry..." Fluttershy mumbled as she hid behind her hair. "Oh, that's quite alright Fluttershy," the crowd parted and Celestia stepped forward, "But now we need to act. The Shadow is transforming ponies, one by one. They are forced to submit to his evil powers, becoming hideous, changing into creatures of fear, of death. But with you two, and the rest of the Elements of Harmony..." Ceslestia gestured toward a door nearby, and Princess Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash trotted into the room wearing perfectly-fitting silver scale armor.
The armors themselves were very light, which allowed full mobility. The owners also wore their Elements, the magic causing their armors to react, taking on designs and color of each particular Element.
"...we will succeed," Celestia finished. Then, she used her unicorn magic to raise Fluttershy and Matrixwing into the air. Out of nowhere, armor pieces started to adorn themselves on the two pegasi. When they had the proper equipment, Celestia set them both back onto the ground, their bodies now with a shiny, hardened second layer.
Fluttershy looked at her hooves and body, admiring the armor. Matrixwing's jaw practically dropped to the floor as he stared at her flank (he had stumbled and fallen after his hooves had touched the ground). Fluttershy spotted the expression on his face, and blushed profusely before blowing him a kiss.
"Now, I'll gather soldiers and meet all of you outside." Celestia turned to a smaller group of guards, consisting of at least nineteen men. "I want each of you to stay here and protect the survivors." The soldiers saluted and began to silently set up barricades and defensive positions.
The Elements of Harmony met up one last time before they left for battle. Twilight looked at each of her best friends in turn, tears coming to her eyes as she remembered all the time she had spent with them. "Well... this is it everypony. I know that we are in a bad situation, but I'm sure that with all of our combined Elements, we will defeat the Shadow. We are all that stands between it and the annilation of the rest of Equestria. Before we couldn't stand a chance, six Element could not defeat it. But now, with Matrixwing on our side, do we stand a chance in destroying it once and for all!"
The seven Elements cheered, and Twilight led the way to the throne room's exit, and was about to magically throw them open when she heard a noise. Her ears twitched along with everypony else's to find the source of the sound. It appeared to be coming from behind the door in front of them...
The unexpected happened: the throne room doors blew open inwardly, throwing back Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy and trapping them slightly with their massive weights, leaving Matrixwing, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash to face the next thing to be thrown at them. Ponies scattered in all directions to other castle rooms, and the Elements waited. They didn't have to wait very long however...
Celestia was hurled across the throne room with so much force that she skidded on the floor and collided with the far wall, unconscious. Matrixwing drew his sword, Silver Sting, and turned to face what came barging in. Ice-cold fear gripped his heart as one of the most dangerous enemies in all of Equestria glided to hover in front of him.
The Shadow had arrived.