//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: No Rest 
// Story: Portals: Beyond The Pail (Book 5 In The Portals Series) 
// by The Derpy Doctor 
//------------------------------//

	Kevin ran out of Sugarcube Corner and put his hooves on his head. He could almost already feel the ground shaking beneath his four legs. It wasn’t shaking, though. His stomach felt as though it wasn’t there. It was, though. No matter what he did, this monster was going to make its entrance to this world through the gates of Tartarus or through means of tearing a hole into the delicate fabric of the ground everypony walked on. Either way, it seemed unlikely anypony could stop him from taking dominion over this land. Last time, not even Celestia could do it, not Luna, or Cadence. Not even Kevin had gotten rid of the beast. Last time, they were doomed.
But last time, they didn’t have Twilight. They had no complete trustful mare to guard all of Equestria.
Last time, Kevin was a surprising new addition to Equestria.
Last time, Bellus hadn’t spent an extra three months in Tartarus absorbing dark energy.
Now, looking on all of the advantages and disadvantages, They have: no ponies that Bellus doesn’t know about to stop him, no distractions, 	no Blizzard Blast to count as a noble warrior against him.
Bellus also had obviously gained experience from last trial and had learned what not to do this time around and had gained in magic powers by absorbing more of the hate from Tartarus.
Kevin’s thoughts rushed through his mind like an arrow successfully going through the front and back end of a ripe lemon.
Equestria was no more.
It was now time for Kevin to either plan for a defensive position and try to hold off the attack, or to go home and spend the short remainder of his free life with Fluttershy. He had a choice.

Blast looked back to see if the explosion resulting from his bomb had the potential to harm him, but found himself being burned as he looked. The flames erupted from the burning complex of rooms and singed his tail. Blast ran for the portal entrance, and tried casting his spell, getting it to return to the present day in Ponyville. The spell took energy, though. It took energy that he just didn’t have.
Seconds before the wave of flames hit the stallion’s sides, Blast stopped at the entrance, caught his breath a bit, cast the spell and jumped into the frame of the portal. His tail became more singed and, his flank was partially burnt from the sheer heat of the explosion. The flames licked him as he darted past the entrance.
Blast was too out of breath to check the portal for anything unusual. He gave himself another moment to continue catching his breath before looking back and seeing numerous tendrils of flames passing through the shimmering portal and the flame died down, each time leaving a small crack in the surface of the portal’s screen. The weird passage between dimensions cracked as if it were made of glass. The heat expanded the portal to the point that it deformed and cracked.
Blast looked back into the world he was now part of. Once again, he was home.

Kevin ran to outside. If Kevin stood a chance at fighting, he had to try. The chances were, if he were to fall in battle, he would never get the chance to embrace Fluttershy once more before falling into his eternal sleep. It mattered to him that he would see her, but if he didn’t, did 	Equestria stand the same chance against the beast?
But he’d have to go. Equestria depended on him. If it fell, he’d never see her again. He had to fight.

“Blast!” came the voice of Derpy, startling the blue unicorn as he looked at the cracking screen, “Hey, Bellus is coming back, I’ve been sent to warn everypony, you have to leave or fight.” Derpy paused for a moment before continuing. “Haven’t you been gone for a while?”
It had been a while, and Blast was left with one plan.
He backed into the portal.
“This ends now,” Blast said, “again.”

Kevin looked at the ground to find it shaking. His stomach grumbled as he saw past that simply shouldn’t have happened and an unavoidable future that was too much worse than that past.

And then it all stopped. It all moved in slow motion as he was quickly drawn into the air, hooves first, hanging upside-down. He could see 	Sugarcube Corner becoming mashed into the scenery. He could see all of Equestria becoming mashed into nothing more than a small piece of cratered land. There was nothing left of it and then it came back.

A beast drew himself out of the midst and walked along the rows of captured ponies, shaking the shingles off the houses as he did so, pressing his full weight into the earth.

Bellus, being what he is, has somehow influenced Kevin’s thoughts so that he saw only the most terrible things.
Kevin looked around to confirm everything was the way it was. The buildings all stood where they were supposed to. However everypony had been lifted off the ground and were suspended in air around each other. It was the perfect prison. Nopony can run away or fly away when there was absolutely nothing binding them to the earth.
“Kevin!” came a scream from behind Kevin. Pain made its way into the voice along with a longingness for help and comfort.
Kevin was scared of what he would receive as he replied “Fluttershy?!”

Bellus stormed over the ground. His face was full of hate, his feet hit the ground, leaving footprints the size of the sugarcube corner. Tartarus had made him stronger and much, much angrier.
“Where is Twilight?” Asked the behemoth, trying to sound slightly, as though hiding his anger obviously for a strong immediate cursing.
“I have her in the air somewhere, I can sense it, but she’s not showing herself. Now if anypony would please tell me where she was last seen so that I can find her, that would be… Amazing!”

Kevin ignored the words. He tried to swim like a fish over to Fluttershy. She was in her cottage when Bellus “raptured” her.
“Help, Kevin!” She screamed in her “assertive voice.” She sounded hurt. A shrill pitch mixed its way into her voice as if her words were shedding their own tears.
As Kevin moved towards her, he could make out the appearance of her squirming legs. Each one flailed in worry - except for one, which bendt to the side: one way a pony’s leg was never meant to bend.
Her face molded into an expression of grief and her lips trembled in pain. Her eyes filled with tears that needed no help falling freely to the ground.
“NOW!” shouted Bellus. “Bring her out, NOW!”