//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19 
// Story: Hocus Pocus 
// by Pegasus Rescue Brigade 
//------------------------------//

One by one, the runes appeared.  One would flicker into view on a tree, the next on a rock, and the one after that on a fallen log.  The trail led deeper and deeper into the forest.

Soon Dinky’s hooves were muddy and her coat was covered in burs.  Any semblance of a clear path through the foliage had long since vanished, but she paid the obstacles no heed, intent on following the purple runes appearing one by one.

“Do you think Scuffle and Honeydew are alright?” she asked finally.

“They’re fine,” Clarity assured her.  “They’re back in the castle now, in the infirmary.  Hopefully that means Sparkler’s been taken there.”

It took Dinky a moment to remember how Clarity could have known this.  “Oh, right, you can still track Honeydew’s location with that enchanted hair clip,” she said finally.

“Right!” Clarity responded.  “And if I know Scuffle, he won’t leave her side until they’re both back at the towers, so he’s probably fine too.”

Dinky smiled.  “At least they’re safe,” she said.  “I just hope Sparkler’s alright as well…”

Clarity didn’t have a response that time, so the two fillies continued quietly for a few minutes more.  However, Dinky’s thoughts continued to plague her, until she spoke up again.

“Clarity, do you think I’m… you know, too far gone?  I never meant to let the corruption become this bad.”

“I know you didn’t,” Clarity said comfortingly.  “You’re having some… difficulties, but when you work past them, it’s the same old Dinky underneath.  And as long as that doesn’t start to fade away, I know you can pull through this.”

Trouble yipped excitedly.  Dinky took it as an agreement with Clarity’s words.

The fillies came upon a low ridge, and suddenly, after a long expanse of thick forest, a clearing appeared.  Before them was a large hill, covered in more trees.  Cut into the side of it was a large cave entrance.  The interior was pitch black, but a large rendition of Scorpio’s mark burned with purple light just above the threshold of the cavern.

Dinky stared at the opening.  “This has to be it,” she said finally.  “Whatever our impostor Sunbeam is up to, it’s happening in there.”

“It’s more than a little foreboding,” Clarity said softly.  “I can’t feel the dark magic, but I’ve still got this… this sense that something really bad is in there.  If I was here and had no idea what was inside, I’d still probably want to get away as quickly as possible.”

Trouble hid himself beneath Dinky, apparently equally apprehensive.

“Well, there’s no sense delaying it,” Dinky sighed.  “Come on, let’s go take a look.”

She hopped down from the ridge and approached the cave.  Lighting her horn, she cast a bright yellow beam into the darkness to see what was ahead.  As soon as the cave interior was revealed to her, she was filled with an even greater sense of dread.

Bluish, uneven crystals made up the walls and ceiling of the cavern.  They seemed to take in Dinky’s light, holding and shining it back at her eerily.

“It… it’s the same cave…” she stuttered, feeling weak in the knees.

“Pardon?” Clarity asked.

“Every time Sunbeam came after me in my dreams, we were in a crystal cave,” Dinky explained.  “It was… it was this crystal cave.”

Clarity scraped a hoof on the dirt nervously.  “Well, I guess that’s all the more proof we’re at the right place,” she said.  “Let’s go take a look around.  Maybe if we’re lucky, Sunbeam won’t know we’re here until we find him.”

Shaking slightly, Dinky nodded.  Her hooves felt like lead, but she lifted them, one followed by another, and stepped beneath the symbol of Scorpio into the cave.  Past that, she only took one step, then stopped in her tracks.

Clarity cocked her head.  “What’s up?  See something?”

Dinky hardly heard Clarity.  An overwhelming energy weighed down on her the moment she set hoof in the cave.  Her forelegs wobbled momentarily before she collapsed on the stone floor.

“Dinky!” Clarity gasped, though her voice sounded muffled and far away.  “What’s wrong?  What’s happening?”

“It’s… so much…” Dinky choked.  “I can’t stop it…”

The filly cried out as a cone of black light flared up around her horn for a moment.  Trouble yipped nervously and backed off, before turning and scampering deeper into the cave.  Dinky hardly noticed him go.

“The aura of dark magic in here is too strong!” she yelled.

“Hang on!” Clarity said, grabbing Dinky’s tail in her aura.  “I’ll get you out.”

Clarity dragged Dinky across the floor, but as she reached the mouth of the cave, something prevented her from going further.

“Another barrier?” Dinky managed to ask, clutching at her head as she tried to hold back the dark magic and pressing feebly against the invisible wall.

“It’s not like the one at the hideout,” Clarity realized, stepping out of the cave without resistance.  “It only blocks you, not me.”

“So it’s… a trap?” Dinky questioned through gritted teeth.

Clarity hung her head.  “Guess so.  Maybe Sunbeam knew we were coming.  The barrier must be responding to your darkness and keeping you inside.”

Dinky groaned.  “I can’t fight it…” she said weakly.  “If I just let the dark magic flow, the pain will stop…”

Clarity stepped cautiously back into the cave as Dinky ceased trying to hold back the energy.  Her horn became encased in the same dark aura, and this time, it didn’t vanish again.  Purple mist began to leak from the corners of her eyes as she shakily stood up.

“You’re… you’re just going to go on like that?” Clarity asked, her voice trembling.

Dinky scrunched up her face.  “I’ll try to hold it back somewhat, but I can’t stop it completely.  It’s unbearable.”

Clarity stared fearfully at Dinky’s horn.  “B-but—”

“There’s nothing else I can do,” Dinky pointed out.  “I fell into his trap.  It’s a great move on Sunbeam’s part; he’s protecting himself by trying to turn me from an enemy into an ally before I can reach him.  My only chance now is if I can stop him soon.  Maybe if I do, I can still get out of here before I become a wraith myself…”

Clarity still looked worried, but she steeled herself.  “Let’s not waste any time then,” she declared.

“My thoughts exactly,” Dinky replied.  "Besides, Trouble ran off in there somewhere.  We should find him too.  Come on, it can’t be much further now.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I should have been ready,” Dinky grumbled, hanging her head low to the ground.  “I was so focused on stopping Sunbeam that I didn’t even stop to think about how cunning he is.  Of course he was going to set a trap like this.”

Clarity shrugged.  “We just misinterpreted the obstacles,” she said.  “That barrier back at the hideout was probably never meant to stop us, just to fill you with more dark magic.  That’s why there was another trap here; we were supposed to get past the first one all along.”

Dinky sulked and let off a small blast of energy that scorched one of the crystals in the wall.  “Sunbeam’s just playing with me,” she grumbled, “which is even more infuriating ‘cause he’s always so smug about being one step ahead of me. When we find him, I’m gonna… I’m gonna…”

Several particularly violent thoughts crossed Dinky’s mind.  Knowing they were a product of the dark magic and not wanting to alarm Clarity, she left her sentence unfinished.

A few moments later, the tunnel widened into a roughly circular chamber, still made entirely of crystal.  Multiple tunnels branched off in different directions, each extending further than the light the young unicorns were producing.

Dinky sucked in her breath.  “This is it,” she said curtly.  “This is the room where I’ve been in my dreams: it's the same room where Sunbeam might have corrupted me from inside my own head, if not for the intervention of that mysterious stallion.”

“Hey!” Clarity chirped, brightening suddenly.  “What if that stallion is here somewhere too?  He saved you in your dreams; maybe he’ll save you from the real Sunbeam, too!”

“That would be nice, but I wouldn’t count on it,” Dinky answered.  “Come on, we have to choose a tunnel.  Sunbeam must be around here somewhere.”

Choosing a tunnel Dinky remembered Sunbeam emerging from in one of her dreams, she led the way into the darkness.  Almost as soon as the large room faded into darkness behind them, a new one came into view up ahead.  “Get ready,” she whispered to Clarity, “he could be waiting for us…”

The fillies cautiously entered the room, casting their light around for any sign of the wraith.  What they found instead was a large, roughly circular room, again with tunnels leading off in various directions.

“It’s… it’s the same room?” Clarity asked.

“It can’t be,” Dinky replied.  “We walked straight ahead.  We can’t have wound up back where we started.  You don’t suppose this place is some kind of maze, do you?”

“I’m not sure…” Clarity mumbled, staring down each tunnel for a few moments.  “Let’s try another one.”

Dinky chose another tunnel at random.  Once again, just a short distance down it, a new room came into view, just like the ones before it.

“It is the same room!” Clarity exclaimed.  “I paid close attention to how many tunnels were in the last one, and where they were all positioned.  This room’s exactly the same.”

“How’s that possible?” Dinky asked, the black aura around her horn growing in proportion to her frustration.

“It must be an illusion,” Clarity confirmed.  “A very clever illusion, too.  It’s in line with the rest of Sunbeam’s traps; the longer we wander lost in here before finding him, the longer the dark magic will be able to eat at you.”

“No, really?” Dinky snapped.  “Can’t you dispel it or something?  You’re supposed to be the illusion expert here.”

“I can try…” Clarity said softly, already focusing her magic on the dimensions of the room.  “Just give me a second to—”

“I don’t have an extra second,” Dinky interrupted, advancing a step closer to the other filly.  “Every moment I’m getting closer and closer to that point of no return!  I can’t exactly just stand around.”

“I know,” Clarity replied, her voice growing continuously meeker.  “But it will take even longer if we just keep wandering around in here.  Please, just be patient until I can figure this out.”

Dinky sulked and quieted as Clarity studied the area.  Dully, she thought perhaps she was being a bit harsh on her friend, but quickly dismissed the idea.  This was a life or death situation, after all; she had no time for Clarity’s slacking.

The seconds of silence grew into minutes.  Dinky grew more and more agitated as Clarity continued to observe in silence.

“What’s taking so long?” she finally growled.

“I’ve almost got it, jeez” Clarity replied, exasperation causing her temper to flare slightly as well.  “I’m going as fast as I can.  Chill out.”

Although Clarity’s comment was little more than mild annoyance, it made Dinky’s blood boil.  Furious, she lunged forward, catching Clarity off guard and pinning her against the wall with her forehooves.

“W-what are you doing?” Clarity squeaked.

“Don’t tell me to chill out!” Dinky snarled, the darkness around her horn growing and causing Clarity to wince.  “If you’re gonna be this slow, maybe you should have just told me you were useless and couldn’t do it, instead of wasting all this time with your worthless attempt!”

The dangerous aura crackled loudly; a few wayward black sparks rained down, creating tiny singe marks on Clarity’s coat.  Rather than look terrified, however, Clarity simply looked sorrowful.

“That’s not the Dinky I know at all…” she whispered, staring into the glaring eyes of the enraged pony.  “Dinky, before we can focus on finding Sunbeam and saving you… maybe you should make sure there’s something left of you to save.”

Dinky stared for a long moment, processing Clarity’s words.  Slowly, she removed her hooves, and Clarity slumped to the floor, looking relieved.  With great effort, Dinky stemmed the flow of dark magic for a few seconds.

“What’s happening to me?” she asked finally, tears forming in her eyes.  “You’re my best friend, and as soon as the tiniest thing goes wrong, I just… I can’t control myself…”

The dark energy soon burst back through Dinky’s horn, and she collapsed on the floor, sobbing.  “I can’t stop it,” she gasped through the tears.  “It’s only going to get worse.  I’m going to get worse.  In a few minutes, I’ll have pushed this whole moment of remorse to the back of my mind in favor of more anger!  It’s not fair!”

Clarity said nothing.  Silently, she rose to her hooves and trotted to Dinky’s side.  Being careful to avoid contact with her horn, she leaned down and nuzzled the despairing filly’s cheek.

“Just… just go,” Dinky mumbled, flattening her ears against her head.  “You’re in danger here.  If you stay, the next time my temper flares, I might hurt you, or worse.  There’s no sense in accompanying me any further when I’m more monster than anything else.”

Clarity didn’t reply, but she didn’t leave Dinky’s side.  Eventually, the purple filly quieted her sobs enough to look up.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked, cocking her head slightly.  “Go.  See if you can find a way back to the academy, where it’s safe.”

Clarity shook her head.  “Nope.”

Dinky blinked.  “Why not?  You have no reason to stay.”

“Says who?” Clarity asked, gently nudging Dinky to get her to stand.  “Yes, there are some bad things going on in your head right now.  But as long as the Dinky I’m talking to right now keeps managing to fight her way back to the surface, there’s still a chance of getting out of this.”

“But how can you be sure I’ll be able to keep coming to my senses?” Dinky asked, carefully getting to her hooves.  “How do you know this isn’t the last time?”

“I don’t, really,” Clarity admitted.  “But I know this, Dinky.  Dark magic is really strong, but so is something everyone in Equestria values above all else.”

She smiled.  “Dinky, that something is friendship.  And you and I have the strongest friendship I’ve ever experienced.  So strong, in fact, that I don’t think it will give out unless the darkness consumes you altogether.  And we still have some time before that happens.”

For the first time since entering the crystal cave, a hint of a smile crossed Dinky’s muzzle.  “You still consider me that close of a friend?  Even after all this?”

“Of course,” Clarity affirmed.  “You’re corrupted, but that’s not your fault.  And whenever you can overcome it, you’re just as kind as you were the day I met you, I’m sure of it.”

“I hope you’re right,” Dinky said quietly.  “We still need to solve this illusion, though.”

Clarity laughed.  “Well, despite your little outburst, I wasn’t lying when I said I almost had it,” she replied.  “Here, look.”

Clarity’s cinnamon glow grew brighter, and one by one the tunnels surrounding them faded away, while a new passage became visible in what appeared to be solid stone.

“After you,” Clarity said politely, gesturing to the tunnel and giving her companion a small grin.

Nodding and trying to keep her spirits high, Dinky obliged, and once again led the way into deeper darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Clarity is my friend.  Friendship is stronger than the darkness.

It had been about ten minutes since the incident in the illusion chamber, and already, Dinky was beginning to feel unreasonable frustration at her situation creeping back into the corners of her mind.  She repeated her new mantra to herself again and again, determined not to let herself turn on her dedicated friend again.  For now, it seemed to be working.

“I’m surprised we haven’t seen Trouble yet,” Clarity said, finally breaking the silence.  “Do you think he went deeper into the cave, or did he get past us and make his way back out when we were combating the illusion?”

“Let’s hope it’s the latter,” Dinky replied.  “Trouble doesn’t need to get mixed up in what’s going to happen down there.”

Clarity nodded, glancing around the crystal tunnel nervously.  Dinky paused for a few seconds before speaking again.

“Speaking of which, do you think Sunbeam knows we’re here?”

“Probably,” Clarity sighed.  “I’m sorry to say it, but chances to outsmart him have been scarce.  I doubt this will be one of them; tonight’s too important to Sunbeam.  I don’t think we’ve got a chance of beating him on a small strategic error or a loophole.  We have to turn his whole plan on its head.”

The fillies rounded a corner and were faced with an unexpected sight.  The tunnel continued in much the same manner, but several dozen of the crystals lining the walls glowed a sinister purple instead of the usual soft blue.  The light they gave off danced and writhed inside them, as if the glassy walls were holding it in.

Full of trepidation, Dinky took a slow step forward.  The purple lights responded to her movement, glowing more brightly against whichever surfaces of the crystals were facing her, and crackling faintly.

“Oh, wonderful,” she sighed, hanging her head.  “Another trap.  This one doesn’t even make an attempt to hide itself.  Obviously as soon as I try to walk through, the crystals will burst and all that energy will come at me.”

“Let me take a look then,” Clarity suggested, trotting forward.  “They shouldn’t pose any danger to me, right?”

The grey filly moved cautiously forward.  As expected, the crystals did not respond.  Delicately, she raised a hoof and touched one.

“Seems pretty solid,” she commented, tugging on the purple stone gently.  “I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get any of them out of the wall.”

Dinky hung her head.  “What am I supposed to do now?” she asked.  “It’s not like I can find a way around.”

Clarity didn’t immediately respond.  She rubbed her chin with a forehoof thoughtfully.

If she wasn’t so incompetent and weak, she’d have been able to help you get through.

Dinky gritted her teeth and pushed the angry sentiments from her mind.

No.  It’s not Clarity’s fault.  Clarity is my friend.  Friendship can overcome the darkness.

“…Dinky,” Clarity said, interrupting her friend’s inner battle, “I… I wonder if maybe this isn’t really a trap after all.”

“Huh?”   Dinky scratched her head and stared quizzically at Clarity.

“Think about it,” the grey filly continued.  “If Sunbeam was going to set another trap that would force you to absorb excess magic, he would have just set another barrier for you to drain like the one we encountered at the hideout.”

“How do you explain the crystals then?” Dinky replied, gesturing rather forcefully at the dark crystals as if Clarity had somehow overlooked them.

Clarity seemed to take a moment to collect her thoughts before answering.  “From what I know of Sunbeam, it seems like he’s always trying to get you to believe something other than the truth.  He keeps you confused so he can manipulate you, right?”

“Don’t remind me,” Dinky growled.  “What does that have to do with this?”

“I think he’s using the same strategy here,” Clarity explained.  “I guess I could be wrong, but I think perhaps these crystals were placed to make you think you needed to try to avoid them, so you’d stall for a while and try to figure out a safe way past.  That way, the dark aura of the cave can continue to corrupt you while you waste time solving the puzzle.”

Dinky was quiet for a long moment.  “What if you’re wrong?” she asked finally.

Clarity sighed.  “I hope to Celestia I’m not,” she said softly.  “But I don’t see how you can possibly pass safely if they are dangerous.  So maybe our best bet is to hope they aren’t.”

You shouldn’t trust her.  She’s foolish.  She’s going to put you in greater danger.

Clarity is my friend.  Friendship is stronger than the darkness.

“Dinky, we shouldn’t dawdle here longer than we have to,” Clarity pointed out, flipping her mane nervously.  “I need you to trust me, please.”

She’s rushing you.  Don’t let her pressure you like that!

Clarity is my friend.  Friendship is stronger than the darkness.

Shaking, Dinky took a single step forward, followed by another, and another.  With each step, the magic inside the crystals convulsed, thrashing against their facets to try to get at her, but they did not break.  For a few dozen pony lengths, she watched apprehensively, but nothing changed.  Soon, the corrupt crystals stopped appearing, leaving only the familiar blue coating the tunnel ahead.

Clarity grinned.  “Told ya.”

Breathing a long sigh of relief, Dinky trotted toward the cave wall and sat down on a sickly-looking patch of black moss, trying to catch her breath.  “How’d you know?” she asked incredulously.

Clarity shrugged.  “I guess it just seemed like what Sunbeam would do.  He’s smart, but maybe he’s not impossible to figure out.”

Dinky chewed her lip thoughtfully.  “You know, it’s not just Sunbeam you’ve got figured out,” she pointed out.  “Seems like you’ve got a pretty good handle on how everypony works.”

Clarity cocked her head, flattening one ear and looking confused.  “What do you mean?”

“Well, think about it!” Dinky said, trying to recall some notable examples.  “We might not have become friends with Honeydew and Scuffle if it wasn’t for you.  Back on our first day at the academy, you were the one who figured out that Honeydew was just scared, rather than antisocial.  And Scuffle seemed like nothing but a bully to Honeydew and me at first.  You were the first of us to think maybe he wasn’t all bad.”

Clarity looked uncertain.  “That’s just them, though.  When you spend a lot of time around somepony, of course you’re going to start to figure out how they work.”

“What about Nester then?” Dinky asked.  “I might have wound up getting him kicked out of the academy if you hadn’t kept me from being so impulsive and not giving him a chance.  And on a related note, I think you were the first one who suspected there might not be something totally wholesome about Sunbeam, back when I first met him.  Obviously I really regret not trusting you on that one.”

Clarity opened her mouth to interject, but Dinky, clearly on a roll now, simply continued.

“We can’t forget about Sparkler!” she added.  “Even when we had very little evidence, you were the one claiming there was something under Sparkler’s superficial attitude that we had to flush out.”

“Well, that—”

“Oh, and you caught on to Scuffle’s little crush on Honeydew long before I would have.  Don’t forget about that.”

“Alright already!” Clarity said loudly, giggling and blushing at the shower of praise for her wit.  “You have a point.  I have figured a lot of ponies out.”

Dinky nodded as she returned to a standing position.  “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you knew what Sunbeam was thinking with this latest trap,” she admitted.  “You were just as valuable back there as you were with taking care of that illusion a little while ago.”

Clarity smiled.  “You know, now that I think about it, it makes sense, in a way,” she said with a soft chuckle.  “I’m none too shabby at seeing through magical illusions, but maybe what I’m really great at is seeing past the illusions created by a pony’s actions and into the truth in their hearts.”

Suddenly, the tunnel filled with a white light, interrupting the conversation and causing both fillies to look up and down the passage in search of a source.  Just a moment later, the glow faded as quickly as it had come.

“Whoa, what in Equestria was that?” Clarity asked nervously, staring into the darkness ahead.  “It was so bright…”

Dinky turned to face her friend, and immediately broke into a grin.  “I think I know what it was,” she said gleefully.  “Check your flank, Clarity.”

Clarity blinked as comprehension set in, and then whipped her head around to examine herself.  On her formerly-bare flank was an image of a bright red heart with a small black keyhole in the center.  Along the lower right margin of the heart was a tiny golden key.”

“M-my cutie mark…” she stuttered.  “My special talent is unlocking the truth in other ponies’ hearts?”

“It certainly looks like it,” Dinky answered.  “It’s funny.  In retrospect, it seems kind of obvious, but I guess that’s how cutie marks are supposed to be, isn’t it?”

Clarity giggled, still ogling the cutie mark with awe.  “Speaking of obvious,” she began, “look at what this happy occasion and cheerful reminiscing has done.  You’re looking better than you have since we first entered this horrible place.”

In truth, Dinky had momentarily forgotten that her horn was encased in an aura of blackness.  “You’re right, as usual,” she told her friend.  “A little positivity goes a long way, even now.  I just might get out of this after all.”

“Only if we stop wasting time,” Clarity pointed out.  “Let’s keep moving.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yip!

Dinky’s ears perked up.  “Did you hear that?”

Clarity nodded and stood still, swiveling her own ears forward to listen for more sound.

The tunnel had been steadily descending for a while now.  Dinky didn’t want to think about just how big this accursed cave was, and how deep underground they must have been by now.  But after a quarter hour of silence, a high pitched sound echoed through the passage.

Yip!  Yip!

“Is that… Trouble?” Clarity whispered.  “Did he actually wander all the way down here?”

“Let’s get closer,” Dinky quietly replied.

Stepping as softly as possible, the pair of ponies made their way down the slope.  Moments later, the sound returned.

Yip yip yip!  Yip!

“Hush, you infuriating creature!” came a sinister voice.  “I do not need you interrupting me, no I do not.”

Dinky exchanged a nervous glance with Clarity.  “Sunbeam,” she mouthed.

Just a few more pony-lengths down, the tunnel finally bottomed out, giving way to a large, roughly circular room.  Hiding out of sight in the shadows, Dinky gaped at what lay before her.

The chamber was surprisingly bright compared to the rest of the cave, although this was due primarily to the black and purple flames that burned on a series of pedestals around the outer edge of the room.  Directly ahead was a structure Dinky could only describe as a crude altar; a flat slab of smooth, shiny black stone was placed atop a rough outcropping of crystal jutting from the floor.  Scorpio’s mark, radiating more purple light, had been carved into the crystal base.  The altar was littered with a few dusty scrolls and tattered tomes.

On either side of the altar was a pair of statues.  The creatures they depicted were nothing short of horrifying; the twisted abominations were roughly pony shaped, but their features were warped and exaggerated, and their expressions anguished.  In each statue’s mouth was a smooth, glassy orb, not unlike the illumination orbs at the academy, although these emitted no light.

The floor of this room was made of black bedrock rather than crystal.  A large circle, with a diameter nearly twice the length of an adult pony, was drawn on the ground near the altar in some shimmering substance.  Drawn within the circle was a very intricate rendition of Scorpio’s symbol, which rhythmically pulsed with light.

All this, however, was a secondary observation to a much more disconcerting sight.  Sunbeam himself stood facing the altar, resting his forehooves on its surface as he pored over the assembled materials.  Dinky strained to hear what he was mumbling to himself, but was unable to catch anything intelligible.  Black sparks shot from his horn occasionally, causing the symbols of Scorpio to glow brighter for a moment whenever they did.

Yip yip!

Dinky’s gaze snapped to the source of the sound.  An orange blur darted out from behind the altar, coming to a halt beside Sunbeam and yipping loudly.

Growling, Sunbeam turned to face the fox and lifted him in a dark aura, causing no small amount of surprise on Trouble’s part.  “Fine, you nuisance,” he hissed.  “If you’re not going to leave me in peace, I’ll silence you myself, yes I will!”

“Don’t you dare hurt Trouble.”

Sunbeam tensed.  Still facing the altar, he slowly lowered Trouble to the floor.  The fox growled and then darted away to some dark corner of the room.

“Why Dinky, how good to see you,” the wraith said, finally turning to face the fillies.  “I suspected it was merely a matter of time before you found your way here, yes I did.  It was inevitable.”

“Save it, Sunbeam, or… whoever you are,” Dinky replied, annoyed.  

He paused for a moment, eyeing Clarity with a clear hint of curiosity.  “You brought backup?” he asked.  “Not a problem, but quite unexpected, yes it is.  I would have expected Clarity to have separated herself from you long before you reached this place.  After all, wraiths don’t make for very good company.”

“I’m not a wraith,” Dinky said defiantly.  “Your magic hasn’t consumed me just yet.”

Sunbeam threw back his head and laughed.  “A wonderful act!” he chuckled, stomping his forehooves delightedly.  “Your lies are wasted on me, though, yes they are.  You’re simply hiding your true form, exactly as I am.  Nopony could absorb so much dark magic without it taking control of them.”

Clarity glanced at Dinky nervously.  “He’s, uh… he’s wrong, I hope?” she asked.

“Of course he’s wrong!” Dinky replied heatedly.  “C’mon, Clarity, it’s still me! For now, at least.”

“Or perhaps, Clarity, that’s merely what Dinky wants you to think, yes it is,” Sunbeam said smoothly.  “If she is indeed a wraith, obviously you would not be able to trust her.”

Clarity looked back and forth between Dinky and Sunbeam.  The doubt in her eyes hurt Dinky far worse than the pain that came from trying to stifle her dark magic.

“Clarity…”

Clarity wheeled suddenly and took a step toward Sunbeam.  “I don’t care what you say!” she snarled.  “My special talent is seeing what’s really going on inside a pony, and right now, I believe with all my heart that Dinky is still my friend!  Nothing you can say or do will change that.”

“Suit yourself,” Sunbeam said with a casual shrug.  “Your opinion, and for that matter, your presence here, is irrelevant.  This is between me and Dinky, yes it is.”

“Which leads me to the question I’ve been looking for an answer to all year long,” Dinky cut in.  “What in the name of Equestria and all the worlds beyond it are you actually up to.”

Sunbeam smiled.  “Surely you harbor a guess or two, without me saying anything at all.”

Dinky looked around the strange room.  “It seems like some kind of ritual,” she admitted.  “Scorpio’s symbol is everywhere; I’ve been seeing it all night in various places.  I suppose you’re trying to tap into Scorpio’s power to make yourself into a substantial threat to Equestria or something like that.”

Sunbeam’s grin grew wider.  “You need to think bigger, yes you do!” he announced, apparently hardly able to contain his glee.  “Most wraiths lust for power, but I am not like the many before me.  I have seen the bigger picture.  I have realized the only way for dark magic to reach its fullest potential and consume all of Equestria, yes I have.  But to complete my objective, I need your help, and it is for that reason that I pulled you into all this in the first place.”

“But what is that objective?!” Dinky cried, her horn sparking as she grew furious with frustration.

Sunbeam cackled.  “Together, Dinky Doo, we will recreate an era of darkness that was cut short in its prime many eons ago, yes we will.  Together, we will bear witness to the reinstatement of the true master of all the wraiths.  Together… we will bring Scorpio back to this world.”

Dinky’s jaw dropped as she realized the magnitude of Sunbeam’s intentions.  “Now you’re just spouting nonsense!” she snapped, whipping her tail threateningly.  “Scorpio’s sealed away in the stars, but even if you could bring her back, I’d never help you with something like that.”

“I thought you might say that,” Sunbeam cooed.  “Even in your new form, your hatred of me is still overpowering your desire for her return, yes it is.”

His horn crackled ominously.  “So since I can’t convince you, I’ll just have to make you submit!”

Before Dinky could react, Sunbeam hurled a bolt of black energy at her.  The instant it made contact, the filly realized this was nothing like the stinging stunning spells Sparkler had used on her just a few hours before.  As the attack struck, fiery pain shot through every nerve in her body.  She cried out, but even her agonized gasp came out sounding strangled.

Sunbeam watched with amusement as Clarity rushed to Dinky’s side, but Dinky shook off the attack almost immediately, dark-magic-fueled rage quickly numbing the pain.  “Get back, Clarity,” shooing her friend away with a forehoof.

“But I can help!” Clarity replied urgently.  “Since you can’t hold back your dark magic right now, you can’t use your regular magic against him.”

Dinky jumped as another bolt of darkness struck near her hooves, and fired one of her own back at Sunbeam, who leapt out of its path with a gleefully mocking expression.  “Well… alright, but be careful!” she conceded.  “He’s really dangerous.”

“I noticed,” Clarity replied.  “You fight.  I’ll cover you with support spells.”

“It’s hardly the time to be having a friendly conversation, no it is not!” Sunbeam laughed, charging up a much larger blast of dark magic.  “Fight me, or submit and lend me your power!”

Dinky charged forward suddenly, taking Sunbeam by surprise.  The colt fired his spell, but in his haste his aim was imperfect.  The energy struck the floor where Dinky had been standing an instant before, cracking the rock.

Seeing an opening, Dinky leapt into the air, letting multiple black bolts fly from her horn.  Sunbeam countered instantly, creating a field of energy that deflected all the attacks.  His response was so fast that he had time to create a bolt of his own.  Dinky, still falling back to earth from her leap, had no opportunity to dodge.  The magic struck her squarely in the chest, sending her tumbling and crashing to the stone floor on her back.

“You may be a wraith, but you’re merely a fledgling, yes you are,” Sunbeam laughed, watching with sadistic amusement as Dinky struggled to get up.  “Never fear.  After a few years basking in Scorpio’s majesty, you’ll have mastered dark magic.  Too bad that won’t help you now, no it won’t.”

A ring of darkness encircled Sunbeam’s horn, growing until it was a disc more than a pony length wide.  “Wait till you see what this does…” he cackled.  Craning his neck back and then throwing it forward, he sent the disc in Dinky’s direction.  The instant it connected, however, the filly vanished.

“What?” Sunbeam questioned.  “But…”

Suddenly, Dinky flickered back into view elsewhere in the chamber.  “What’s the matter?” she asked, feigning innocence.  “Is your aim not as good as you thought?”

“Illusions are mere parlor tricks, yes they are,” Sunbeam growled, creating another disc and refusing to acknowledge Dinky’s mocking.  “You can’t flee forever.”

Again, Sunbeam threw the disc, and again, Dinky vanished, appearing elsewhere a moment later.  Rather than remain idle, however, she immediately counterattacked, and this time, Sunbeam wasn’t ready.  He cried out as the painful spell collided with his small frame.

“Tricky,” he replied icily, forming his disc spell yet again.  “Yet by dark magic standards, such an attack is feeble, yes it is.  You won’t be striking anypony down with that, no you will not.”

He reared up to throw the next disc.  Dinky, under the cover of invisibility, had already moved to a new location, while her illusive doppelganger stood defiantly before her attacker.  However, Sunbeam did not throw the disc at the illusion.  Instead, he hurled it toward the tunnel entrance, where Clarity was standing.

Dinky gasped, but had no time to even call out to her friend.  Concentrating on the illusion, Clarity was completely unable to escape the incoming spell.  Upon reaching her, the ring slowed to a stop, hovering around her as she stood in the hollow center.

Sunbeam grinned.  “You didn’t think I would let your interference with our battle go unchecked, did you, Clarity?” he asked.  “You’ll pay for meddling in the affairs of wraiths.”

The dark circle encompassing Clarity began to rise, and the terrified filly rose with it.  More rings burst forth from the first one, surrounding her at different angles like orbital paths around a giant atom.  Panicked, she looked at Dinky.

“D-Dinky… help…”

And then suddenly, the sphere that the rings had formed was filled with black lightning.  Clarity gave an anguished shriek and flailed about as the searing darkness attacked her from every angle.  The agony in her cry hurt Dinky more than even Sunbeam’s attacks.

The room was filled with a terrible din, a mixture of Clarity’s cries, the lightning’s crackle, and Sunbeam’s delighted laughter.  But in spite of the distracting noise, Dinky’s next thought was crystal clear.

Free Clarity, by any means necessary.

Dinky didn’t feel herself move.  She hardly noticed the pain of one of Sunbeam’s bolts striking her as she turned away from him.  All she could see was Clarity trapped in that horrible spell.

Without even the slightest hesitation, she stuck her horn into the floating orb, and focused on absorbing the magic, just as she had at the barrier at the hideout.

Hardly a second later, the sphere disappeared, and Clarity dropped to the floor, moaning.  Sunbeam, caught off guard by the desperate solution, watched with interest.

Dinky was not able to see either of them, though.  She stood stone still, her horn crackling loudly.  Voices called out in her head, as they had the last time she’d absorbed a large amount of dark energy.  This time however, among all the nonsensical calls of the lost voices, one spoke clearly, in a soft, soothing female voice.

“You have so much darkness within you,” the whisper said calmly.  “The burden must be enormous.”

“Y-yes,” Dinky stuttered, finding it hard to remember what she was doing immediately before.  “It’s so hard to fight it…”

“Then don’t,” the whisper replied, though it sounded like merely a polite suggestion, not a command.  “End the suffering.  Let the part of yourself that hurts go…”

“Can… can I do that?” Dinky asked.  

“Oh, yes,” the voice cooed.  “It would be so easy…”

A muffled voice made Dinky’s ears perk up.  It was hard to make out what it was saying, but whatever it was, it was drawing her attention away from the soothing whisper.  It repeated the same word again and again, until Dinky finally realized it was simply her name.

“Dinky!  Dinky!”

Dinky shook her head violently.  The blackness clouding her vision faded away, and a blurry Clarity came into view.

“Dinky, why did you do that?  You can’t afford to take in any more dark magic!”

Dinky shook her head.  “Never mind me.  Are you okay?”

Clarity nodded.  “Sore, but I’ll be alright.  I still think you shouldn’t have done that, but thanks.”

Dinky nuzzled her friend, being careful not to touch her with her crackling horn.

“How touching,” Sunbeam said coldly.  “Of course, Clarity, taking in such energy will not harm a wraith like Dinky, no it will not.  She must have some need of your aid, still.  Otherwise, she’d have left you to die.”

Dinky turned around, glaring at Sunbeam and gritting her teeth as the black aura around her horn grew.  “You can try to psych Clarity out all you want,” she said slowly.  “It’s not going to work.  All it’s going to do is make it even more fun for me to make you pay for what you just did to her.”

Sunbeam smirked.  “Prove you’re not as helpless as I say, then!”

A furious battle cry bubbled up in Dinky’s throat.  Roaring out threats, she charged toward Sunbeam, firing bolts of dark magic as fast as she could.  Sunbeam took off, staying a few steps ahead and firing back attacks of his own.  Clarity retreated to the mouth of the tunnel again as the wild game of cat and mouse continued.

Sunbeam jumped into the air and turned himself so his hooves connected with one of the glasslike orbs held by one of the statues.  He vaulted off it just as Dinky fired a spell, and responded by firing one of his own bolts not at her, but at the statue at the opposite side of the altar.  Dinky’s spell struck one orb at exactly the same moment Sunbeam’s struck the other, and both of them immediately radiated startlingly bright purple light.

“Yes!” the colt cried triumphantly.  “That’s it!  That’s it!  You’ve done it now, Dinky, yes you have!”

Boiling over with animalistic anger, Dinky paid absolutely no attention to Sunbeam’s raving as she chased him around the room.  She did notice when the ground beneath her began to rumble and shake.  She skidded to a halt, trying not to lose her balance as the earth rocked beneath her.

“What’s happening?” she asked, fear setting in and causing the relentless rage to abate for a moment.  “What did you do?”

“What did I do?”  Sunbeam asked innocently, putting a hoof to his chest.  “This is what we did, Dinky, yes it is.  My magic and yours, combined.”

Dinky glanced at the brightly glowing orbs.  The churning light inside them gradually began to form a familiar, fiery shape: Scorpio’s symbol, once again.  Slowly, it dawned on her what must have happened.

“Wait… the orbs, what… what are they?”

Sunbeam grinned.  “Why, they are the two locks keeping the portal to the Realm of Stars sealed.  Unlocking them was the very last step in opening the way for Scorpio, yes it was.”

Dinky and Clarity exchanged a panicked glance.  “I don’t buy it,” Dinky said, trying to sound less threatened than she felt.  “If all it takes to unlock them is a little bolt of dark magic, why didn’t you open them yourself?”

Sunbeam prepared to respond, but stopped himself.  “We have a few moments before the magic reaches its peak,” he said finally, taking on a surprisingly polite tone.  “Now that it’s too late to change fate, I’ll answer not only that, but all your questions.  And it is too late, by the way; neither offensive magic nor physical force will damage the orbs, and the magic put in cannot be drained away, so there’s no reason to try, no there is not.”

“Alright, begin at the beginning,” Clarity said, stumbling a few times as she endured the shaking to cautiously move to Dinky’s side.  “How does this ritual work, and why did you decide Dinky had to become involved?”

Sunbeam again prepared to respond, but the Scorpio symbols around the room began to flash more rapidly, and he paused once more.  “First, I must be recognizable for her return,” he said, staring at the flashing rune.  “This disguise no longer serves a purpose anyway.”

And just like that, “Sunbeam” melted away into a cloud of thick black smoke.  The only part of the original pony that remained visible were the bright blue eyes, which stared unblinkingly at the startled fillies.  The whites of the eyes had vanished, leaving just two circles of blue.  These were the eyes Dinky had seen watching her in the forest so many times before.

Then, slowly, the amorphous mass began to take a new shape.  As it rose into the air, four legs, much longer than a young colt’s extended to meet the floor.  Their fur was so black, Dinky was unsure if it was fur at all; it looked like darkness itself, made solid.  Smoke pooled around the hooves, although its source was unclear.

The new body continued to form, conforming for the most part to the shape of a tall, sleek stallion.  The flank, once it appeared, was devoid of any sort of cutie mark, and the tail, made of much wispier stuff than the body itself, gradually changed from hair at the base to churning smoke at the tip.

Eventually, a head formed, again looking much like a fit stallion, with a defined chin and strong jaw.  If not for the curved horn that formed along with it, and the fangs that appeared in its mouth, it would have been quite handsome.  A black mane of the same type of strange substance as the tail billowed above it.  The eyes, still bright blue, took on another form, with the whites returning, but the pupil slightly more slit-like than it had been before.

'Sunbeam' chuckled darkly at the fillies’ shocked expressions.  “Did you expect my true form to be equally young?” he asked in a voice far deeper than his disguise’s had been.  "Sunbeam was a convenient cover, but the true Sunbeam and I are different entities entirely."

“Then who are you?” Dinky asked.  “I’ve never heard of any modern wraiths besides King Sombra, and he’s been destroyed.”

The stallion snorted.  “Why, I am Antares!” he announced.  “Surely Equestria fears my name nearly as much as Scorpio’s, yes it does?”

The fillies shook their heads in unison.  “Dark magic isn’t exactly widely, talked about, but I’ve never heard of you,” Clarity replied.

Antares looked indignant.  “I am the original wraith!” he cried. “I stood by Scorpio’s side as she created the first dark spells, yes I did.  I am the first pony to have fully accepted and embraced her all-powerful darkness.  The brightest star in her constellation bears my name!”

Dinky vaguely recalled seeing 'Antares' written on one of her star charts for Astronomy class.  She had never paid the name a second thought.  “If you were Scorpio’s assistant, does that mean you’ve been around for thousands of years?”

“It means exactly that,” Antares replied, tossing his airy mane proudly.  “I am not immortal, but I have found many ways to use dark magic to extend my lifespan, yes I have.  However, most wraiths throughout history have tended to try to dominate Equestria on their own power.  Ultimately, dangerous as they are, they always seem to lose, yes they do.  So I decided to lie low instead, waiting centuries, and even millennia, for an opportunity to bring back the one entity who can absolutely ensure Equestria is overcome by darkness: Scorpio herself.

He stared fondly at the large circle drawn on the floor, with the symbol in the center flashing faster with each passing moment.  The room gave a particularly violent rumble, causing Dinky and Clarity to pitch sideways.  Antares gracefully maintained his balance.

“It took me hundreds of years to find this place, yes it did” he continued, running a hoof along the stone floor fondly as if the chamber was a precious treasure.  “It was sealed completely; only through faint traces of dark energy was I able to find its location and reopen what was hidden underground.  This place was created before even Scorpio’s time, and is the only link I’ve ever found between Equestria and the Realm of Stars, yes it is.  It took hundreds of years more to figure out how I could reopen the gateway, and even with that knowledge, the energy of the stars is only strong enough to do so on one night every forty years.

“Forty years…” Dinky repeated, chewing her lip thoughtfully.  “But wait, does that mean—”

Antares grinned.  “Correct.  The true Sunbeam was the last pony I made an attempt to corrupt.  But the foolish colt destroyed himself with careless use of dark magic before he could be any use to me, yes he did.  You, Dinky, nearly did the same, yes you did.  If your princess had not made the error of allowing you to continue your study here, my plan would likely have fallen apart.”

Dinky scowled.  He had her there.

“And so, after the last failure, I waited patiently for forty years longer,” Antares mused, “waiting for the perfect colt or filly to help me.  One with a strong mind and great skill, but unfortunately no knowledge of the dangers of dark magic.  This was the kind of pony in which I needed to plant a seed of corruption, and that pony was you, yes it was.  In case my plan went sour, I assumed the form of Sunbeam to cover my tracks; obviously nopony would believe you if you said a dead colt from forty years prior was wandering school grounds, no they would not.”

The floor suddenly vibrated violently, and the rock within the circle drawn on the floor began to buckle.  More smoke seeped out through the newly formed cracks.

“Finally, it came time for the ritual itself,” Antares added.  “I’d completed all the steps once again.  I drew the symbols and imbued them with dark energy.  I recited all the proper incantations from some of Scorpio’s most accursed tomes, yes I did.  All that was left was to undo the locks, and for that I needed you.”

He took a step closer, causing Dinky to assume a more apprehensive pose.  “You see, whoever designed the locks in ages past was no fool, no they were not.  Two different ponies, or in this case, wraiths, were needed to open them.  Even if one pony could fire two spells in different directions, it would have no effect.  A clever move on the part of the creator, yes it was, as wraiths do not tend to cooperate, but instead simply try to outdo one another, as they have ever since Scorpio was banished.”

He grinned.  “Of course, this means my psychological tricks had the desired effect, yes they did.  If you’d simply stayed at the Academy and didn’t make any attempt to hinder my plans, it would have been impossible to complete the ritual!  Ironic, yes it is.”

The weight of the mistake was like a physical burden.  Dinky felt weak in the knees.

Antares seemed to relish her despair.  “Now that the portal is about to open, there’s just one final thing that must happen to bring Scorpio back to us.”

Dinky swallowed.  “And what would that be?”

The sound of rapid, rushing air filled the room, and the Scorpio circle on the floor collapsed entirely, all the rock within being pulled through and falling into a void beneath.  Antares began to laugh.  “You’re about to find out!” he cried.

Bright light radiated from the portal.  Even from a few paces away, Dinky could see what appeared to be the night sky on the other side of the hole, only the stars were far brighter and more pronounced than usual.  The strange stars danced through the air as if they were alive.

The shaking ground finally stilled.  Dinky, Clarity, and Antares all stood transfixed, waiting for something to happen.  After a few moments of silence, something did.

A single tendril, long and snakelike, and made of a similar smoke-like substance to the kind that rolled off Antares’ body, rose out of the portal.  The tip of it swiveled irregularly, as if scanning the room for something specific.  Feeling more than a little uncomfortable, Dinky began to back away.

“You cannot leave,” Antares said levelly.  “This is the other reason I need you here.”

Dinky ignored him and attempted to make her way up into the tunnel, but found her way blocked by another barrier, just like the one at the entrance to the cave.  She was stuck at the ritual shrine with Antares and that… thing in the portal.  Once again, the barrier did not impede Clarity, who backed a few paces into the tunnel and continued to watch the situation concernedly.

The smoky tendril ceased its examining, and then slowly began to extend further from the opening and move towards Dinky.  Backed against a wall, she could only watch it approach.

“Now we arrive at the reason it was unlikely for two wraiths to ever intentionally open this gateway,” Antares said smugly, giving his tail an excited swish.  “You see, Scorpio is not in any corporeal form right now.  Such things cannot exist in the Realm of Stars.  But she can’t exactly take over Equestria without her body, no she cannot.  She can regain it, of course.  But to do so… she must steal that right to a physical body from somepony else.  A wraith must be sacrificed."

Dinky had only a moment to take in what this meant before the tendril was upon her.  It stretched in circles around her, carefully examining her quivering form with its tip.  However, it didn’t make any attempt to capture her.  Several tense seconds passed, and then she reached out to try to nudge it away from her.  Her hoof passed right through; the tendril was still nothing but a long projection of wispy blackness.

Antares’ eyes widened.  “What?”  Why… why hasn’t it taken you?”

Dinky’s yellow eyes met the wraith’s blue ones.  “You said it has to be a wraith that gets sacrificed, right?” she asked tentatively.  “Not a pony?”

“Of course,” Antares snapped, as if the question was offensive.  “A weak little pony would not be suitable to recreate a dark mage as powerful as Scorpio.”

In spite of everything, Dinky smiled.  “I told you when I got here, Antares, I may be corrupt, but I’m not a wraith.  I guess that means Scorpio will have to find somepony else…”

Confirming Dinky’s statement, the tendril turned away from Dinky.  It hesitated for a few seconds, and then began to float across the room toward Antares.  His pupils contracted.

“I-Impossible!” he shouted, scampering backwards.  “I’ve exposed you to more dark magic than even the strongest pony should be able to endure!  You can’t… you can’t seriously tell me a mere filly has resisted transformation in spite of all that!”

Dinky shrugged.  “I don’t understand it either.  But I can’t be sacrificed if I’m not a wraith.  Unfortunately, you are…”

Antares bolted for the tunnel, but the tendril reacted immediately.  It snapped toward his hind leg, suddenly solidifying as soon as it got a grip.  The wraith cried out and lost his balance, landing hard on the stone floor.

Immediately, several more tendrils rose out of the portal.  They whipped toward their victim, fastening themselves onto his other back leg or around his torso, ignoring his struggles to free himself.

“No!” Antares cried as he was dragged along.  “Scorpio, it’s me, your faithful servant Antares, yes it is!  You’ve got the wrong wraith!  Just give me a few minutes and I can provide you with a freshly corrupted one, yes I can!”

The tendrils didn’t seem convinced.  Another one wrapped itself around Antares’ neck.  Collectively, they had enough leverage to cease dragging him, instead lifting him into the air.

“P-please!” Antares choked.  “This was not the plan!  Release me and I can bring you another, I swear it, yes I do!”

In another moment, he was held directly over the portal.  He peered down into the hole, looking terrified.

“No…” he whispered.  “No, no, no—”

And then, all at once, he was yanked downwards.  Partially freeing a forehoof, he caught the lip of the portal, keeping his head above the rim for a few seconds.  In that moment, he locked eyes with Dinky one last time.  If he planned to say something, he thought better of it.

Then the tendrils increased their strength, and the wraith lost his grip.

“Noooooooooooooooo—”

There was a bang like a cannon blast, and bolts of light, both piercing white ones and jet black ones, began to shoot from the portal.  Dinky took cover low to the ground as the lights collided with the walls, chipping or even shattering crystals whenever they touched.

Clarity was yelling something, but the cacophony drowned out her exact words.  Dinky put her forehooves over her head and shivered.

This is it… she thought miserably.  Equestria’s about to have a very unwelcome visitor…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Very few ponies in Equestria were awake between three and four in the morning.  Most were sound asleep, tucked under the covers in their warm, quiet homes.  Few, if any, were out looking at the night sky at such an hour.

Therefore, almost nopony noticed when a certain set of stars directly overhead began to flicker.  One by one, the stars glowed brightly for a moment, and then went out completely.  Within a minute or two, there was a patch of sky devoid of starlight.

The constellation Scorpio had vanished.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dinky cautiously lifted a hoof away from her face, peering out with one eye.  The lightning had mostly stopped, save for an occasional bolt now and then.  She shuddered, trying not to think too hard about the details of the fate that had just befallen Antares.

“Dinky!  Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Dinky said, slowly standing and trotting over to Clarity.  She noticed with great relief that the barrier keeping her confined in the ritual chamber was no longer active.

Clarity sighed, relieved.  “Anyway, listen!” she said urgently.  “I hear voices, and hoofsteps.  Somepony… or rather, a lot of someponies, are on their way down here.”

Dinky glanced at the portal.  A feeling of malevolence was intensifying the longer it remained open.  “Should we head up the tunnel and meet them?” she asked.  “We should try to get out of here before—”

Dinky was interrupted as a few figures appeared in the darkness of the upper tunnel.  Their voices were familiar.

“Hello?” she called.

The voices stopped.  “Was that—” someone began.

“It was!” came a voice that Dinky recognized immediately.  “Dinky!  Thank Celestia you’re okay!”

The figure at the head of the group drew close enough to be visible even in the low light.  Ditzy Doo’s unusual eyes were full of happy tears as she rushed forward to her daughter.

“Careful!” came another voice, which Dinky knew had to belong to none other than Twilight Sparkle.  “Don’t touch her horn, Ditzy.  She’s under the influence of some dark magic.”

To Dinky’s astonishment, still more ponies from Ponyville stepped into the ritual chamber behind Ditzy and Twilight.  Breeze, Cloudcover, and Watt were there, all looking equally exhausted but thoroughly thrilled to have found who they were looking for.

“Mom… Miss Twilight…” Dinky breathed.  “But… how did you all find me?”

“With this,” came another voice.

Cloudcover lowered his wings and a tiny colt hopped off his back.  Dinky’s expression became even more amazed as Pipsqueak trotted over to her.

“P-Pip…”

“Your pendant, Dinky!” Pipsqueak announced, holding up the matching one around his neck.  “I don’t know how, but it told me you were in danger.  It led us right to you, too!  We were all terrified you’d be hurt, or worse.”

“It’s not supposed to do anything like that,” Dinky said, confused.  “I mean, I’m glad it did, but… how strange…”

“Oh, so this is the Pipsqueak I’ve heard so much about?” Clarity asked, trotting over to the other foals.  “You’ll have to introduce me once we get out of here.”

Dinky nodded, but remembering the gravity of the situation, quickly pushed any pleasantries out of her mind.  “Listen everypony, I know you all want to celebrate now that you found me in one piece, but there’s something really bad happening right now and we need to—”

“Something bad is happening,” said Twilight sternly. “Dinky, why are you using dark magic again?”

“I-I can’t help it, Miss Twilight,” Dinky stuttered, still stunned by everything that was happening.  “This place, its dark aura is so strong, I can’t hold it back.”

“That reminds me, how did you and Clarity wind up in this dodgy place?” Cloudcover asked.  “You’re miles from school, after all.”

“I’ll explain it all soon!” Dinky said loudly, trying to stem the flurry of questions.  “Right now though, we need to get out of here!”

“Dinky’s right,” said Ditzy decisively.  “Something doesn’t feel right.  Let’s get back to the academy.”

“Aww, leaving so soon?” came a new, yet somehow familiar voice.  “Surely you can stay for a few minutes.  I haven’t spoken to anypony in millennia, and I would just love the company.”

Dinky winced.   “Too late.”

Everypony turned to face the portal in the ground as the starry light pouring from it grew almost blinding.  Slowly, a silhouette began to rise up from within, a dark splotch against the light.  The figure was that of a mare, perhaps very slightly bigger than average, but otherwise physically unremarkable.  The gathered ponies looked on in varying degrees of surprise and confusion.  Dinky and Clarity stood at the front of the group, their expressions grim.

After fully rising from the portal, the figure floated forward, and gently lowered herself until all four hooves touched the stone.  As she landed, the bright light behind her gradually faded, allowing the ponies their first good look at the newcomer, although Dinky couldn’t say she didn’t expect what she saw.  The mare was an earth pony, with a maroon coat and a short, spiky purple mane.  Her tail was tied with a series of tight bands, giving it a bizarre segmented appearance.  She held it up so that its tip, which came to a fine point, dangled over her back.

Although Dinky couldn’t take her eyes off the pony that had emerged from the portal, she heard Twilight make a reasonably horrified sound behind her.  She didn’t speak, however, so Dinky enunciated what was undoubtedly on Twilight’s mind.

“Scorpio.”

Scorpio took a long slow breath and let it out in a satisfied-sounding sigh.  “Ah, it’s been so long since I’ve felt air in my lungs and stone under my hooves,” she said, smiling to herself.  “I was beginning to think my wraiths would never become competent enough to get me out of there.”

Nopony replied.  Scorpio eyed the assembled ponies with casual interest.  “A nice turnout, I suppose,” she commented.  “I didn’t expect an audience for my resurrection, apart from those who performed the ritual.”

There was still no answer, so the mare continued to talk to herself.  “Speaking of the ritual, I suppose I should have expected Antares would be the one to find a way to open the portal.  Such a pity he was so incompetent that he couldn’t even turn a harmless, trusting filly into a wraith.  His life served my greater purpose, though.  I’m sure that’s what he would have wanted.”

A silence followed.  Scorpio polished a hoof on her coat and examined it.

“…I’m confused,” Watt said finally, breaking the long, awkward moment.  “Who is this pony, exactly?”

Scorpio snorted.  “I didn’t realize my guests were not aware of whose presence they were standing in,” she said.  “Perhaps the pony who aided in my release from that realm can explain.”

Dinky swallowed hard as Scorpio looked directly at her.  “Go on, dear filly.  Tell them.”

Shaking, Dinky turned away and faced her friends and family.  “Um… this is Scorpio, of the Zodiac,” she said hesitantly.  “She’s, um… the creator of dark magic.”

“So she’s a villain,” Breeze stated, earning a chuckle from Scorpio.

“Did… did you release her on purpose?” Pipsqueak asked, looking at Dinky with horror and disbelief.

“No!” Dinky squealed.  “Sunbeam… I mean, Antares tricked me, it was an accident—”

“Accident or not, what’s done it done!” Scorpio announced.  “I suggest all of you count yourselves as blessed for witnessing this moment: the glorious rebirth of the pony who will usher in a new age in Equestrian history, as I should have all those millennia ago!”

Ditzy stepped forward so she was next to Dinky.  “You’re going to take over Equestria?” she asked defiantly.  “How do you expect to do that?  You’re outnumbered eight to one, and you’re not even a unicorn!  What makes you think we’ll even let you out of this cave before we get the princesses and—”

Scorpio gave the tip of her tail a casual flick, sending a few black sparks from it into the air.  Ditzy stopped mid-sentence, totally frozen in place by a paper thin layer of black energy that suddenly surrounded her.

“How annoying,” Scorpio said, lifting Ditzy in a dark aura and placing her haphazardly next to her other comrades.  “This isn’t the time or place for attitude.  Next time, her punishment will be more severe.”

Ditzy was freed from the spell.  She tottered sideways, flapping her wings and just barely managing to maintain her balance as the others rushed to aid her.

“Now, let’s see…” Scorpio continued, swaying her strange tail back and forth while she thought.  “Ah yes, the young one.”

She looked down at Dinky.  “So, you are the child who coupled your magic with that of Antares to open the gateway?”  she asked, cocking her head slightly.  “Clearly, you were meant to be the sacrifice, but Antares was unable to make that happen.  I suppose that’s not so bad, though; clever as he was, Antares was a bit too fond of the proverbial long game.  His plans were often complex and detailed to the point that they were ineffective.”

The mare extended her tail forward.  To Dinky’s surprise, it moved of its own accord, much like the tail on a real scorpion.  Having it in a position as if it was poised to strike made Scorpio even more imposing.  “Tell me, what is your name?” she asked finally.

Dinky knew better than to argue.  “It’s Dinky Doo.”

“Well, Dinky, you’re quite young, but you have the action-oriented qualities that Antares lacked,” Scorpio continued.  “I suspect you’ll be a suitable replacement for him.  I can feel your energy; the dark magic has called you to action.  Through rage and raw power, you have overcome great obstacles.  Think how great you will be as the right hoof wraith to Scorpio herself!”

Dinky frowned.  The moment where she had no choice but to stand up to Scorpio had already come.  Bracing herself for the inevitable, Dinky put on her bravest face and gave her answer.  

“I will never let myself be taken by the darkness, and I’ll definitely never help a terrible pony like you!”

Shockingly, Scorpio appeared delighted.  “Such fire, even in the face of mortal peril!” she laughed.  “You will make a fine assistant indeed, as soon as the darkness consumes that remaining righteousness.  Perhaps it’s time I finish what Antares started.”

Scorpio lifted her tail higher into the air.  A humming sound, like a machine beginning to charge with energy, emitted from it, and the purple hair suddenly began coursing with waves of dark magic.  Moving her tail with as much dexterity as she would a limb, Scorpio drew a curved line through the air.  As she did so, a thin, concentrated line of darkness shot from the tip, drawing an equivalent curve on the floor between Dinky and the rest of the ponies.  A shimmering purple wall, much like the barriers Antares created, but adorned with ornate runes, rose up where it was drawn.

“Wait, no!” Ditzy gasped, leaping forward and pressing her forehooves against the wall.  “Lower this wall!  Don’t you dare lay a hoof on my Dinky!”

Dinky backed as far away from Scorpio as she could, until her rump pressed against her side of the glasslike obstruction.  “D-don’t try anything!” she stuttered.  “I held my own against Antares, and I’ll do the same here.”

Scorpio rolled her eyes.  “Okay, the whole false confidence bit is getting old,” she grumbled.  “You do understand what has happened here, right?  This isn’t just a little mistake you can take back.  This isn’t even a problem you can run to the adults and have them fix for you.  In a matter of days, Equestria will be mine, and not even an army of ponies, much less a single filly, is going to prevent it.”

She slunk closer, until she was just a few paces from Dinky’s tiny frame.  “Now,” she said in a menacing whisper, “let this magic flood your body and soul, devouring the pony and leaving only a shell, a wraith, to house the darkness.”

Scorpio’s tail lashed forward, its pointed tip striking the tip of Dinky’s horn.  It drew away again an instant later, leaving what appeared to be a long black thread connecting the two points of contact.  Panicking, Dinky swatted at it with a hoof, but was unable to detach it.

Scorpio’s tail began to glow once again until it was pulsing and crackling with dark energy.  At her silent command, it began flowing down the thread and into Dinky.

The moment the channeled magic arrived at Dinky’s horn, it became clear that any magic she’d absorbed before was nearly negligible in comparison to this.  She screamed as the energy assaulted her like a physical force, madly flailing her head to try to break the connection.

“No!  Stop!  Stop!” Ditzy cried, flinging her whole weight against the magical wall between her and her daughter.  “You can’t do this!  I will not let you do this!”  

She threw herself against the barrier again, and a loud crack was heard.  It was not the sound of the wall being damaged.

Ditzy grunted in pain and readied herself for another charge, but Breeze grabbed her by the tail and dragged her back.

“What are you doing?!” she wailed, turning to her coltfriend with tear-filled eyes.  “I have to help Dinky!”

“Killing yourself trying to break through that wall isn’t going to save her!” Breeze replied, struggling to hold the mare back.  “Twilight’s trying to find a way to safely lower the wall.  There’s nothing we can do until then!”

Ditzy forced herself free of Breeze’s grip.  He only just managed to grab her again before she could fling her body against the wall.

“Watt, Cloudcover, help!” he pleaded.  “She’s already cracked a rib or something.  Don’t let her hurt herself any further.”

The other two stallions rushed over, and together they pinned Ditzy to the floor.  She continued to struggle fruitlessly against them, sobbing and watching the spectacle on the other side of the wall.

“Dinky!”

Dinky was unaware of the drama going on behind her.  The voices that appeared in her head when she was exposed to large amounts of dark magic had returned in full, and this time, they were much more aggressive.  The one she’d heard before, she realized, was the voice of Scorpio herself.

“Give in!” the voice commanded, though whether Scorpio had spoken the words or simply sent them directly to her mind, she couldn’t be sure.  “This power will destroy you!  The quicker you let it do so, the more painless it will be.  Let the darkness swallow you!”

Scorpio’s thundering commands, together with the other wailing voices, became overwhelming.  Combined with the pain of so much darkness flowing into her body, Dinky’s senses began to overload.  Black-stained tears streamed down her cheeks.

I can’t fight it anymore! her mind screamed, though her mouth was quite unable to form the content of the thought.  Resisting is too painful, too strenuous… it’s… impossible…

With that last hopeless thought, Dinky gave up the fight.

Pipsqueak was the first of the ponies on the other side of the wall to notice what was starting to happen.  “Oh no, look!” he gasped, dashing forward and pointing.

Dinky’s screaming had gone suddenly quiet.  Black flames had begun to lick the floor around her hooves.  With each passing moment, they grew brighter and more intense.  After a few seconds, they began to travel up the filly’s legs.

“Celestia help us,” Twilight breathed.  “It’s… it’s too late…”

Scorpio continued to maintain the connection as the flames climbed higher up Dinky’s body.  They spread across her coat, quickly engulfing her trunk and tail.  Her eyes remained closed as her head was also consumed, with her horn being the last part to light.  The moment the fire reached the thread connecting the two ponies, it snapped, burning out of existence before it even reached the floor.

Everypony behind the barrier, even Ditzy, was shocked into silence.  The figure that had been Dinky a moment before continued to burn with violent dark flames for another few seconds.  Then, through some undetectable force, they were suddenly extinguished.  Ditzy took one look at what remained when they vanished, and was completely unable to utter even the slightest sound.

Dinky still stood before Scorpio, but she was not the same Dinky that had been there a moment before.  Her lilac coat was now a deep purple, like the last light of dusk, and her cheery yellow mane now inky shades of grey and black.  Smoke billowed from her extremities, and purple mist flowed stronger than ever from her eyes, even though they remained closed.  Her horn, which had a moment ago been straight and adorned with a spiral groove, was now smooth and curved backwards in a crescent shape.  It continued to sizzle and crackle, sending black sparks all about.

Scorpio smirked, satisfied.  “You had a lot of fight in you, but at last, the bothersome pony has been burned away.  Rest now, my wraith.  Much awaits you when you awaken.”

Dinky’s fleeting, confused moment of consciousness left her, and she slumped to the floor at Scorpio’s hooves and blacked out.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where am I?

Dinky could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing.  A brief moment of further inspection of her state of self revealed she wasn’t truly Dinky at all, but just a disembodied thought.

Vaguely, she recalled what had been happening last time she was conscious, although it felt like years ago; Scorpio had been resurrected, and was overloading her body with dark magic.  Faintly, she found herself wondering what the outcome of that had been.  She supposed, physically, she was still in that very room, so she supposed she had to return there when her body awoke.

What will happen when I return? she wondered to herself.

Your friends and family are in danger, replied another loose thought.  You must do everything in your power to protect them.

What? No, a third thought argued.  They are a burden.  You’re always sticking your neck out for them.  You shouldn’t allow them to hinder your quest for personal gain any longer.

The first thought casually listened to the others bicker.  One side always voted for righteous choices, while the other valued only selfish ones, often at the cost of other ponies.  She couldn’t muster up any feeling of support or dissent for either side.  Eventually, it occurred to her what was happening.

My mind is fragmented, she realized, more curious about the condition than concerned.  I can’t awaken until it is whole again.

For the sake of simplicity, she decided to call the bickering thoughts “Light Dinky” and “Dark Dinky.”  This, by default, she supposed, must have meant she was Neutral Dinky.

This is quite a dilemma, she realized.  Inherently, neither Light Dinky nor Dark Dinky can be swayed to the other’s views, and I, by nature, do not prefer one over the other.

She pondered that for a moment.  Logically, it meant that she had to base her decision off memories of the positives and negatives of each point of view.  She silently took in the words of the other thoughts as they recalled memories and made their cases.

Scorpio has given you power few ponies in Equestria dare wield! Dark Dinky announced.  You’ll never have to suffer from unattainable desire again.  When you want something, you can take it.  Nopony can overcome your dangerous magic.

There is something you can never have if you take that path: Light Dinky argued, the love and care of your friends and family.  Do you really want to be a loner, with only selfish wraiths and cruel Scorpio to accompany you through life?

Bah!  It’s too late to redeem yourself with those ponies anyway, Dark Dinky spat.  You’ve already taxed your relationships with your loved ones to their limit during the months you were corrupted.  And now you’re nothing but a monster!  Those ponies can only love other ponies, and you’re not one of them anymore.  You’re a wraith, now it’s time to act like one!

The ponies you know would never give up on you, Light Dinky said confidently.  Your friends have done nothing but try to help through this whole ordeal.  If you are still as kind to them as you were as a pony, what reason would they have to fear you?

They both have good points, Neutral Dinky thought.  Which ones apply better to my life?

For what seemed like hours, she examined her memories from her neutral standpoint.  Her small family had never been particularly wealthy, living just above poverty until recently, but thinking about it, she couldn’t recall longing for a more lavish life.  Why then would she need darkness to take things for herself if she wasn’t filled with desire and greed?

Light Dinky’s point about her loved ones also stood out.  She thought about Clarity, sticking by her side even in the face of mortal peril.  She thought of her mother, risking her life repeatedly to keep her safe, and Pipsqueak, who cared about her enough to lead this expedition to rescue her.  She suspected those ponies would not make a heel face turn with their attitudes, even if she had indeed become a wraith.

It’s settled then, she decided.  As these aspects of personality blend back into a coherent whole, the darkness will be suppressed by the will of the light.  It’s a pity I won’t remember this upon waking up, but it probably won’t take me very long to determine where my allegiance lies.

At once, the shattered thought pattern began to draw back together into one.  Neutral Dinky was flooded with the emotional power of the separate pieces.

Dinky Doo, the whole Dinky Doo, was waking up.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ugh.”

The uncomfortable grunt came out rather muffled.  It took Dinky a moment to realize this was because her face was half-pressed against the floor.  She shifted her weight slightly, and a nasty ache shot through basically all of her muscles.  She groaned softly and remained still, choosing simply to listen to what was going on around her.

“There is nothing you can do to reverse this,” came Scorpio’s voice.  “When she awakens, she will be a soldier of darkness.  Heartless.  Conniving.  Your concern will mean nothing to her.”

“That’s not true!” a desperate Ditzy replied.  “You may have done… whatever you did to her, but nothing and nopony could make her act like that!”

“Ditzy…” said Twilight gently, “…I’m afraid Scorpio may be right.  Dinky is…” she paused, having difficulty forming the words, “she… she’s gone.  That wraith won’t be like the original Dinky was.”

“B-but…” Ditzy stammered, trying to argue.  “There must be… some way to… uh…”

As Ditzy continued to try to rationalize her situation, Dinky turned her attention to another sound: quiet, feminine sobbing.  Cautiously, she opened one eye just a crack to search for the source.

Clarity was curled up in a tight ball just on the other side of Scorpio’s barrier, shivering and crying sporadically.  Pipsqueak stood beside her, trying to remain in control, but a few tears ran down his cheeks as well.  He didn’t seem to want to look at Dinky, so he focused on comforting Clarity instead.

My mom, and my friends… Dinky thought.  They’re distraught.  Over me.

“Now, let’s get down to business,” Scorpio said.  “You all have an important choice to make.  Serve the army of darkness for the rest of your days… or die, right here in this room.  I don’t care who chooses which option, just make it quick; I have a nation to dominate.”

Dinky decided it was time to intervene.  It was painful, but she forced herself into a position where she could stand.  Slowly, shakily, she rose to her hooves, causing whispers among the assembled ponies across the room.

“Ah, she awakens,” Scorpio said fondly.  “And how are you feeling, my little wraith?”

“I’ve been better,” Dinky replied.  The words hadn’t even fully left her mouth when she realized they didn’t sound right.  Her voice was soft and raspy, almost like a hiss.  Surprised, she glanced down at her coat, and then at her reflection in the crystalline wall.  Even with the jagged facets distorting her reflection, the smoky black creature staring back at her was impossible to mistake.

“Now that you’re up, I have a task for you,” Scorpio cooed.  “The pony that was once your mother has been awfully argumentative.  I dare say she doesn’t deserve the opportunity to join us.”

Dinky looked at Scorpio, mouth slightly agape.  “What do you want me to do about it?” she asked obliviously.

Scorpio shrugged casually.  “Kill her of course.”

Ditzy gasped.  Dinky simply blinked, processing the request.  Realizing the opportunity, she played along and nodded.

Scorpio flicked her tail and the barrier separating her and Dinky from the others quickly melted away.  Dinky strutted forward menacingly, further adding to the act by bearing her newly formed fangs.

Most of the group backed away, looking terrified, but Ditzy remained in place, hanging her head so her mane obscured her eyes.  “So be it,” she mumbled.  “I won’t fight back.  I can’t fight back against my Dinky.”

Dinky’s curved horn buzzed and crackled as a spell formed within it.  Hesitantly, Breeze took a step forward as if planning to attempt to protect his marefriend, but Dinky shot him such a glare that he backed off again.

“Yes…” Scorpio hissed.  “Strike a lethal blow, and prove to her what you really are!”

Dinky smirked.  “If you insist.”

The wraith whirled around and threw the dark spell at Scorpio, who was caught entirely off guard.  She screamed in pain as the darkness clawed at her, but she dissipated it within a second with her magical tail.  Ditzy’s head shot up in surprise.

“Wraith or not, I will never harm the ponies I love!” Dinky bellowed.

Scorpio’s face twisted with confusion.  “I… but… but you can’t resist me!” she stammered.  “Wraiths cannot feel love.  They lust only for power.  Power only I can give them!”

“If that’s the case, I guess this wraith doesn’t have her priorities very straight,” Dinky snapped.  “You turned me into this, but you haven’t changed my mind about you.”

Scorpio growled.  “You’re some kind of anomaly,” she said disgustedly.  “Neither pony nor wraith, but simply a mistake.  And mistakes must be erased.”

Her tail snapped to attention above her head and began charging with dark magic again.  Dinky glanced over her shoulder at her bewildered friends and family.

“I don’t know if any of you trust me,” she said, “but if you do think I’ve still got good in me, then listen to what I’m saying and get out of here!  I can buy you a little time.  Hurry!”

Not waiting for their reaction, she turned back to face her foe.  Scorpio’s tail began to vibrate as the magic within it distorted the air around it.  A cruel grin crept across the mare’s face.

“So long, little reject.  You will regret not siding with me.”

A powerful, consistent beam of darkness burst from the tip of Scorpio’s tail, making a high pitched wail as it ripped through the air towards Dinky.  It was clear just by looking at it that this spell wasn’t meant to just cause pain; it was meant to destroy tissue, dissolve bone, and boil blood.  A direct hit would be fatal.

In that instant, Dinky used the only counter that she thought would have a chance of protecting her; she called upon the dark magic that her body was now designed to wield.  From every bit of her being, she brought forth the raging darkness, but now, it didn’t threaten to overpower and control her.  Brandishing the powerful darkness with confidence, she created an enormous, glimmering shield that stretched nearly to the ceiling.  Scorpio’s spell met it just inches from Dinky’s face, causing a thunderous sound.

Beginning to sweat with effort almost immediately, Dinky found she had to pour all her concentration into maintaining the strength of the shield.  Scorpio’s attack was an ongoing assault, rather than individual bolts like Antares had used.  

“Pathetic,” Scorpio said, swaying her tail side to side but keeping the beam focused on a single target point.  “Do you really think you, a tiny wraith reject, can overcome one of the most powerful magic wielders to ever exist?”

Dinky chanced a glance away from Scorpio, briefly looking at the still-open portal in the floor behind her.  No, she thought to herself, but if I can just force you to back up a few paces, maybe I won’t have to.

Dinky tried to take a step forward, but Scorpio was not willing to have her opponent advance.  The mare increased the strength of her beam, and suddenly, Dinky found herself stumbling backwards.  She locked her legs to try to at least remain stationary, but all that did was cause her hooves to skid along the stone as Scorpio pushed both her and the shield backwards.

So much for that plan, Dinky thought sadly.  I just hope I can waste enough time that the others can get away…

There was a movement to Dinky’s left.  A pair of light grey forehooves pressed themselves against the shield next to Dinky.  Startled, she looked to the left.  Clarity grinned back.

“Clarity, what are you doing?” she asked.

“Helping you!” Clarity answered.  “I’m not just gonna let Scorpio kill you!”

Dinky blinked.  “You’re not scared of me?” she asked hesitantly.  “I’m kind of a monster now.  I figured you’d think I was going to attack you or something…”

Clarity shook her head vehemently.  “You may look pretty different, but you’re not a monster.  At least, I don’t think you are.”  She winked.  “You could be tricking me, but really, how many times have I been wrong about this before?”

Dinky smiled for an instant, but the expression vanished and both she and Clarity slid back another six inches.  Dinky returned her attention to the shield, and Clarity, to pushing.  Only a moment later, another set of hooves pressed against the shield on Dinky’s other side, this time belonging to Pipsqueak.

Dinky gawked.  “What is it with you two?” she asked.  “Why are you risking yourselves for me?”

Pipsqueak looked at the pendant around his neck, and the one still hanging around Dinky’s.  “Always together, right?” he asked.  “I can’t just abandon my best friend.”

Both pendants began to glow with faint golden light.  “They still work,” Pipsqueak commented.  “That’s all the proof I need that the Dinky I know is still in there.”

“I don’t care how many foals push against that shield,” said Scorpio with a curt laugh.  “You can’t overpower me.”

She had a point.  The backward movement of the shield had slowed only slightly, even with Clarity and Pip’s help.  That wasn’t the only help for very long, though.

“I don’t care what Twilight says about wraiths, we have to help Dinky!”

Ditzy and Breeze flew back into the room at high speeds, hooves outstretched, as they assumed aerial positions above the foals.  Straining, the pegasi tried to force the shield forward.

“Mom!” Dinky gasped.  “But… but you thought for a bit there that I was going to…”

She trailed off.  Ditzy looked down at her.

“Your father gave his life to save you,” she said softly.  “I’ll always defend you, no matter what.  Even when it’s something like this.”

Dinky took a moment to process that.  With renewed vigor, she poured her energy into her shield, and for a moment, brought the backward movement to a halt.

Only for a moment, though.

“Oh no you don’t!” Scorpio roared, blasting an even stronger beam at Dinky.  “The darkness I command is limitless!  If you add force, I’ll do the same!”

“Looks like we’d better lend a hoof too, Watt old chap.”

“Waaaaay ahead of you, Cloudy!”

A yellow blur bounced off Dinky’s side of the shield.  After a moment, it rushed forward again, and again, like a dizzy fly against a pane of glass.

“Watt, doesn’t that hurt?” Breeze asked.

“Eh, when you run into stuff as often as I do, you build up a resistance to it,” Watt said casually, hurling himself headlong at the shield again.  “Ditzy breaks when she hits magical walls hard enough.  I just bounce off!”

Ditzy rolled her eyes.  “Watt, can you be serious for like five minutes, maybe?”

“Now hush,” said Cloudcover to his coworkers as he took up an aerial position beside Ditzy.  “Push harder or there will be no more jokes for any of us after this.”

It was seven ponies against one, but even now, Scorpio was slowly gaining ground.  Dinky struggled to stay focused, but her strength was draining.  If the shield fell, she and all her loved ones would be gone in an instant.

“It’s no use,” she said finally.  “She’s just so strong…”

There was the sound of cautious hoofsteps behind her.  Dinky didn’t turn around, but she knew there was only one pony left it could be.

“Miss Twilight?”

Twilight was quiet for a moment.  “This can’t be real,” she said finally.  “It must be some kind of elaborate ruse, I know it is!  Dark magic is inherently evil; that’s a hard and fast law of magical science!  Nopony taken over by it can possibly still harbor any good in their heart.”

Dinky groaned from the strain of the spell.  “I don’t understand it either, Miss Twilight,” she managed.  “But if you don’t believe me, why did you come back?”

Twilight was silent again.  “Because… because although it really pains me to say it… maybe science is wrong this time.  I want to believe it…”

“Then help me!” Dinky cried.  “I can’t hold her off!”

Dinky’s hooves gave way for a second and she and all her companions lost nearly a foot of ground.  Scorpio grinned darkly.

Twilight sighed.  “I sure hope my understanding of acts of true friendship is as good as I hope it is…” she mumbled.  Standing perfectly still, she closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Suddenly, a small gale surrounded the unicorn, whipping her hair and tail around her dramatically.  As she opened her eyes again, they glowed with white light.  With a yell, she pointed her horn forward, and a shockwave of light radiated from it as a multicolored beam, almost as powerful as Scorpio’s, struck the shield.

Clearly not expecting the huge increase in force, Scorpio scrambled to get her footing as she was pushed backwards almost a whole pony length.  She spread her forelegs in a wider stance, but even so, she began to slowly slide backwards.

“H-how?” the villain asked.  “That mare is so powerful.”

Dinky grinned.  “Maybe you shouldn’t underestimate us after all, Scorpio!” she taunted.

“You dare speak to me that way, you reject?” Scorpio snarled.  “I can still overpower all of you with ease.  Behold!”

Scorpio lifted her head high and spoke a few words in some arcane tongue.  The Scorpio runes carved into various surfaces around the room suddenly erupted with vibrant purple light, and the power of the dark beam abruptly doubled.  The heroes’ progress came to a sudden halt; it took all of their most incredible effort just to hold the shield in place.  For a few seconds, the fight was a stalemate.

Dinky gritted her teeth, but she was unable to increase her spell any further.  The ponies around here were rapidly tiring, especially Twilight, who was clearly unleashing as much power as she could muster all at once.

“You’ve got no more power to expend,” Scorpio stated.  “Give up.  It will be over quickly.”

Dinky didn’t have a response, but a quick examination at her companions was all it took to know that they all knew their fate was sealed.  Just as she felt the last of her strength fading, a small orange shape on the far side of the room caught her eye.  She glanced at Clarity, and both friends mouthed the same word in unison.

“Trouble?”

He hid back there in the shadows as soon as I arrived to confront Antares, Dinky remembered.  I completely forgot.

Keeping low to the ground, Trouble slunk cautiously toward Scorpio.  The evil mare either didn’t notice him or simply didn’t care.  He paused just a few paces from her, and his gaze met Dinky’s.  She stared back desperately.

“Trouble, help us…”

Her voice was hardly above a whisper, but Trouble cocked his head, ears perked.

Then something unexpected happened.

Without any provocation, Trouble’s attention snapped to Scorpio.  With an angry yip, he leapt into the air, clamping his jaws around the middle of the mare’s tail.

“Wha—”

Scorpio had no time whatsoever to react; Trouble’s extra weight caused the angle of her tail to change, pointing the tip at the ceiling rather than Dinky’s shield.  Unimpeded, the wall of dark magic raced forward, barreling into her.  Scorpio made a desperate attempt to stop it with her bare hooves, but the effect was basically none.  At the same moment, her redirected spell carved into the crystal ceiling, dislodging huge chunks of rock and jagged, glimmering stone.

It all happened in barely a second.  Unable to re-aim the spell or even change position, Scorpio was thrown backwards, crying out as she toppled right back into the portal to the Realm of Stars, with Trouble still clinging to her tail.  The debris from the ceiling fell in after her, wooshing as it disappeared through the large hole.

Dinky collapsed, panting, but Twilight sprang forward, already preparing another spell as Scorpio’s outraged cries echoed from beyond the boundary.  “That won’t stop her for long.  She’ll be back any second,” the unicorn said gravely.  “Dinky, you’re the only one here who had a hoof in opening the portal; do you have any idea how to close it?”

“Close the portal?” Dinky squeaked, forcing herself to stand.  “B-but, Trouble…”

“Dinky, please!  Try something!” Twilight interrupted.  “This is our only chance!”

The mare cast a shield of her own over the portal, and evidently not a moment too soon; a powerful blast of dark magic struck it from somewhere inside the portal, creating several long cracks in the shimmering surface.

Trying not to panic, Dinky glanced at the two huge orbs that were creating the portal.  Antares’ words came back to her.

Neither offensive magic nor physical force will damage the orbs, and the magic put in cannot be drained away, so there’s no reason to try, no there is not.

A single, desperate idea came to her: a loophole in Antares’ claim.  I can’t drain the orbs, but maybe I can overload them!

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if it will work,” she announced.  “All of you, get back into the tunnel; if this works, I’ll join you in a moment.”

Twilight nodded and she and the others all backed into the low passageway behind them.  Another spell hit the underside of Twilight’s shield, sending a spider web of cracks through its surface.  Even such a powerful protective wall couldn’t keep Scorpio out for more than a few extra moments.

Dinky threw a tiny bolt of dark magic at the nearest wall, chipping off one of the crystals.  She held it in front of her, trying to get the angle just right.

“Here goes…”

Her whole body was already screaming from the effort of all the magic, but Dinky still summoned up another intense dark spell.  Shooting it directly into one face of the crystal in front of her horn, the beam refracted into two, which, after a small adjustment, rested on the two orbs on either side of the now-damaged altar.  The room began to rumble again as the two conduits of magic grew intensely bright.

“What are you doing?!” came Scorpio’s voice.  The mare pressed her face against the underside of the damaged shield, trying to see out into the cave.  “Don’t you dare!”

Scorpio lit the end of her tail and hammered it against the shield from below like an enchanted club, sending chips of solid, glasslike magic into the air.  Dinky ignored her attempt to break through and focused on the spell.

Something was happening, that much was clear.  The shaking of the room grew so intense that crystals began to be jarred free, tumbling down the walls or falling from the ceiling.  The orbs had grown so bright Dinky couldn’t look at them directly anymore.

There was a loud crash, and the end of Scorpio’s tail burst through the shield.  It swiveled like a periscope, until the tip came to point at Dinky.  “I’ve got you now!” Scorpio yelled.  “Time to get rid of you permanently, you lousy, defective, good for nothing—”

And then the orbs exploded with the force of a bomb.

The portal snapped shut instantaneously, severing the portion of Scorpio’s tail on the Equestrian side of it, but Dinky didn’t even have time to see it happen.  The dual pressure waves from the massive blasts collided with her like a charging minotaur, hurling her into the air.

In the passage, Twilight only just barely had time to create another wall, protecting herself and the other assembled ponies from the brunt of the blast.  Dinky was not so lucky.  Even in the instant after she was thrown skyward, she could hear the voice of her mother from the tunnel.

“Dinky!  Dinkyyyyy!” 

She smashed against the glimmering wall at a speed that put even Watt to shame.  All the crystals around the point of impact shattered from the force of her body.  The darkness released from the orbs flooded the room, obscuring the sight of her limp form from her loved ones as it fell to the floor and was quickly buried in a pile of crystal debris.

After that, there was nothing but silence.