She very carefully edges her way around the buildings, noting that their is a huge party, and somehow the banners hanging everywhere even have her full name on them. 'Serene Valley' while she had mentioned her first name to the filly while in town, she appears extra skittish at the addition of the latter. She finally finds her wagon, and from her hiding spot in the shadows of the building she notes how many pony's are milling around it an shudders, pulling her cloak tightly around her she works on a plan for getting out of here without being notices by anypony.
It wasn't a teleport spell that's for sure, even the great Celestia would have triggered one of the 4 wards she keep up against that, but somehow the baker is standing in front of her, instantly shattering any plans she had to be unnoticed. "Surprise!" the pink one yells into her hear, and despite her unnatural calm she jumps in fright. "My tail told me a doozy was gonna happen when you visited me earlier, so I KNEW I'd be throwing you a party!"
"Bugger that, I was dragged against my will by a bunch of foals. I'm going to get my wagon, and leave this town getting out of your mane forever." Pinkies mane seems to deflate and she looks depressed, her eyes watering. Serene stares at her for a moment "Eh, Cake was good but nope, go cry on someone else." She turns her back on the pink one and carefully creeps out of sight.
Pinky slumps and following the creepy mares orders turns and goes off to find one of her friends, the first one that she finds is Twilight and Applejack who are currently badly dancing along with several other pony's. They break it off in a heatbeat and walk over, Twilight wrapping her wing around her pink friend. "Are you ok?" she asks Pinkie looks at her and with her mopey eyes, just a few tears leaking from them and says "The guest doesn't like her parties." Applejack snorts and leave the two of them, determined to find the pony who make Pinkie cry.
Apple find the cloaked mare behind Rarity's boutique, peering over an old crate watching her wagon, barely paying attention to anything else. She entirely misses as Applejack trots up behind her and snorts in anger. Completely oblivious even for a second as Applejack starts telling her off. "Why the Hay were you so rude to Pinkie, she's gone to all this trouble to throw you a party and you go and make her sad." Her voice was not even a little quiet, bringing a few eyes towards them.
As the mare turns around Apple takes a step back, the dark expression sending shivers down her spine. "Then you should all leave me alone, and you will never see me again, now but off." and a moment later she turns her attention back to her wagon. Applejacks eye twitches and she grabs the cloaked mare, and starts marching towards the dance floor, dragging the unicorn behind her, her incredible earth pony strength unbeatable "Your going to enjoy this party, and like it."
Finding herself in the middle of a dance floor with a angry Apple farmer on one side of her, and wall of dancing pony's on the other side she waves from side to side, dancing, not well, but still trying. Applejack smiles when she sees this "That wasn't so bad, but you need to get a handle on that attitude, it's like you don't know what's acceptable." Serene smiles not entirely sincerely, but enough. "I'm sorry I upset your friend, but I'm on a tight scheduled... well I was on one until those Crusaders and your friend destroyed them, and I don't have time for this, so if you will excuse me." she attempts to get past the larger earth pony, but Applejack stands firm.
"That's not good enough, I've met better behaved bats, you need to apologize to Pinkie, and stay for the duration of the party, it is in your honor after all. I'll get the crusaders to apologize to you for their antics." She smiles softly "They do mess up the best laid plans."
Serene's dark expression passes over her face again, replace by that smile, that is just a little creepy, and the Apple family member can swear she can taste fear hiding behind that. "Ok, but I'm leaving once this party is done, don't try and stop me."
"There they are now" says Applejack looking over and gesturing as the still sad looking Pinkie approaches with Twilight by her side, Pinkies mane re-inflating as she sees the guest dancing alongside Applejack, but when she turns back to look at Serene she sees that dark expression covering the unicorns face, her gaze looking away from the two.
Just as Applejack is about to speak to the obviously troubled pony someone screams, and all eyes turn to a Lyra and Bonbon, who are backing away from the wagon in fear after having peeked inside it. Closer pony obscure whatever is happening there from sight, but waves of panic start washing over the revelers. Applejack hears some disgusting words behind her, but when she turns to look back at Serene the grey mare has bolted into the crowd.
It appears pony's are stumbling over each other in the panic and as Apple joins up with her friends they start running against the crowd, trying to find out what is causing the panic. The last few pony's move out of their way, and the three girls stare as they see the problem. The wagon is overturned and out of it scrambles a pony, one of six that stand around wearing what appears to be rusty armor. These pony's however lack flesh, their grinning skull horribly on display on top of empty bones.
One of them appears to be standing on Lyra, and another approaches her, looking more than a little menacing as it closes. The three heroic mares look at one another and a smile crosses their faces, a few skeletons not a match for the elements of harmony, even if several were absent. Before they can charge however, the skeletons freeze, and step off Lyra, letting her escape as they move back to the wagon and turn it back, appearing to take up an escort configuration, two pulling, and four, armed with various weapons standing beside, taking no hostile movements towards any-pony. The three look questioningly at one another, then charge.
The Crusaders watch as the three elements enter combat with the skeletons, grimacing as a flesh-less hoof slams into Applejacks face with amazing accuracy, and as another of the skeletons rams it's head into Twilight's wing sending her bouncing across the ground. It appears to be going badly, the skeleons moving with a practiced ease. Scootaloo taps both and points to the side where they see the grey mare Serene apparently dancing, not paying attention to the nearby fight.
As they approach her however to ask for help they notice something off with her movements, as one of the skeletons knees the breath out of Pinkie the mare mimes it, as a hoof collides with Twilights horn second before she can get a spell off, the Serene stretched out in a fake punch that she did just moments before the skeleton. As they notice the glowing purple strings stretching out from the mares body towards the skeletons Apple Bloom yells "Charge!"
The fight suddenly becomes easier, as if the skeletons slow, now fighting defensively, barely matching the Elements, but the bruises and battered mares have also had enough pulling back, their movements compromised by their injury's. Running in between Pinkie and Applejack runs the party's guest of honor, and they are about to tell her to stop when a battered Scootaloo finally falls to their feet, her hoofs wrapped around the mares cloak. The skeletons ignore her as she jumps on-top of the wagons and screams out in some unknown language "Tolle, Tolle, Tolle!" the skeletons breaking into a gallop, pulling the wagon behind them the mare riding it, her figure covered in much newer armour. As they fade into the darkness, the mare appears to extend a pair of wings, the look on Twilight's face priceless.
"Away, away, away." Twilight translates helping Scootaloo to her feet, the other bruised Crusaders following up behind her. "I think this require a letter to Celestia."