Flame of Disparity

by Cinders of War

Chapter 26: Darklight Woods - Part I

The bonfire room Sunset Shimmer had been in led further underground.

“Of course it does…” Sunset said to herself as she begrudgingly made her way down an ancient flight of steps.

The stairway was long and narrow and it turned at several points as it continued to bring the girl deeper into the depths. With the darkness all around her, Sunset couldn’t tell how deep she was going, but she figured it couldn’t be deeper than the Cataclysm Hollows.

There came a door in Sunset’s path, made of wood and barred with iron. She gave the handle a turn, but it would not open.

Sunset heaved at the door, thinking that maybe it was stuck from old age. She pushed and pulled with all her might, but the door stayed shut.

Not giving up, Sunset took a few steps back and kicked the door. This did nothing but make a bang on the wood and give her a sore toe.

As Sunset hopped back, massaging her foot, a muffled voice came from behind the door.

“Password,” it said.

“Oh! Hello,” Sunset said, surprised to hear another person all the way down here. The Abyss was supposed to kill all who dwelt within. “Could you open the door?”

There was no reply.

Then, “Password.”

“Password?” Sunset repeated. Nobody had told her about this obstacle. “I don’t know… Swordfish?”

The door did not open.

“Uh…” Sunset racked her brains for anything that might work as a password. “Flame?”

No answer.

“Abyss?”

Nothing.

“Phantom!” Sunset shouted, frustrated. “Death! Gravewing! Higrun! Nicolash! Twilight Sparkle!”

Still nothing.

Sunset stood back, breathing heavily. Clearly trying to guess her way through this door would not work. Perhaps there was a clue around here somewhere?

The girl looked around the space for anything like a scrap of paper or a stone tablet or anything that might help her discover the password. What she did find was an old toolbox, a torn linen strip, some pebbles, a couple of metal scraps, and a lot of dust.

Looking into the toolbox, Sunset rummaged around. A plan began to put itself together in her head. She examined the door, noting how it opened outwards, towards her. She smiled. Perhaps she did have what it took to get past this door.

---

Almost an hour later, Sunset stood back with a satisfied smirk on her face. Various screws and metal bolts lay on the ground before her. She looked at the door; she had spent the past hour or so ‘fixing’ it, and was just about ready to see if her work paid off.

She had used her pyromancy flame to weld the metal scraps together into a knocker, which she had then nailed to the door. After a few trips back to the bonfire to refill her spell slots, Sunset had then tied the linen scrap to the knocker, then she had proceeded to unscrew all the hinges on the door. It had not been easy, as the door’s hinges were rusty from disuse, but she had managed it in the end.

Sunset dusted off her hands, then took hold of the knocker, keeping her hands on the parts covered with cloth to prevent cutting herself. Then she pulled with all her might.

At first, nothing happened. But Sunset Shimmer would not be denied, and heaved, her knuckles turning white with the strain.

Then she went flying back and the door was torn right out of its frame, slamming into the ground with a deafening bang.

Sunset jumped to her feet, grinning. It had been a stroke of luck that this door opened toward her, because it was so, the hinges were facing her too. It had been a simple matter to unscrew them and pull the door out, with only the lock as resistance.

As she climbed over the fallen door, Sunset decided that she wanted to see the look on the doorkeeper’s face. However, she was to be disappointed.

There was nobody on the other side of the door. There was a chair that was so old that it looked like it might fall apart if she so much as touched it, and a lamp that had long since gone out. There was a small podium that was caked in dust, and on it was a key.

“Huh.” She looked around. There were no signs that anyone had been here recently. “Just who was I talking to?”

Deciding to forget about it and pocketing the key, Sunset followed a tunnel down, bringing her through another flight of curving steps. Halfway down, something weird happened. After one more step down, ambient sound suddenly returned to Sunset’s ears, almost like she could hear the air around her.

Looking out through the broken walls, it was all still rather dark, but Sunset could just barely make out a couple of red birds sitting in a tree just past the wall.

“I’m out?”

If there was other life here, it could mean she was out of the Abyss, at least for now. She didn’t know how far it had already spread.

Ecstatic, Sunset skipped down the remaining flight of steps, listening as her greaves echoed down the tunnel. The end of it opened out into a massive cavern, somehow filled with trees of many different kinds, some even stretching up at least twenty meters above her head. The cavernous walls curved up near the ceiling, where they disappeared into darkness and fog. Whatever was above this underground forest, Sunset had no idea. She didn’t even know how a forest could exist down here.

She eventually stopped thinking about it as she made her way down a small slope where a bonfire stood. Sunset lit it and sat down, feeling the aches from her work on the door fade away.

When she was ready, she set off into the forest, slipping between the trees as she strained her eyes to find a path through it. It was quite dark, seeing as it was underground, but there was some sort of unnatural lighting to the place, seemingly wafting up from the ground beneath her feet, slightly illuminating the area.

Other than the constant rustling of leaves and bushes, Sunset heard nothing else. There were no bird calls, no insects, no other animals. In a short while, the sound of her footsteps scraping against the dirt floor was beginning to drive her nuts.

Sunset kept expecting something would jump out at her any second, but still nothing came; there wasn’t even the sound of the slightest twig cracking. It was too quiet.

Sunset was so caught up in her ruminations that she almost tripped over something. She looked down. There was a faint shine on the ground, like a fishing line.

Then, out of nowhere, a huge log covered in thorny brambles came whooshing out of the trees and swung toward her face.

“Aaah!” Sunset shrieked and threw herself flat, the log barely missing the top of her head. It swung high, as if on a thread, then came swinging back, with noticeably less momentum than before. Sunset stayed prone on the ground until the deadly pendulum had ceased all movement.

“Whew,” Sunset said, getting back on her feet. “That was close.”

Someone had set up a trap to try and kill her. Well, kill whoever might come along, but by the looks of it, nobody but her had been along this path in a very long time.

If there was one, there might be more. Sunset resolved to keep an eye on the floor in case there were any more tripwires or pressure plates that she might accidentally step on.

Sunset continued, slower now, and kept her eyes on the ground. It was hard to see in this unnatural dark, and she almost missed two yellow eyes looking back at her from a hollow tree.

“Who’s there?” Sunset said, jumping back and pointing her sword at the hollow.

There was no reply but a cackle of laughter and a small puff of feathers.

“Okay…” Sunset said, creeping closer. After deciding to light her lantern, Sunset could see that inside the hollow tree was a large owl, and its nest. The bird tapped a foot on the nest.

“You. You,” the owl said, making Sunset jump in surprise. It spoke! “Give me. Warm. Give me. Soft.”

“It can speak! You can speak?”

The owl hooted. It sounded like laughter. “Give me. Warm. Give me. Soft.”

“What? You want something?”

The owl somehow squawked out like a parrot and nodded.

“Huh. Okay. We’ll… umm, let’s see…” Sunset dug around in her pack. She didn’t have much besides her potions. She removed her crossbow from her pack and held it out. She didn’t have anymore bolts anyway, so she couldn’t currently use it. Maybe the owl would make better use of it. “Here you go. Do you want this?”

She placed the crossbow in the hollow tree and waited. The owl scrutinized the weapon, then nodded its feathery head and covered it with its wings. When it pulled away, the crossbow was gone, and in its place was a chunk of metallic rock, about the size of an orange.

“What?” Sunset said, reaching out and taking the chunk. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

The owl shrugged and laughed some more before reaching into its feathers and taking out a scrap of parchment that it spat at Sunset. Then it tapped the nest again with a talon.

Sunset peeled the parchment off the floor. There was a drawing on it. It showed a crudely drawn sword and an equally sketchy illustration of the chunk of ore. There was a plus sign between them.

“So sword plus chunk of rock equals…” Sunset said as she took out her star sword. Sunset tapped the rock and her sword together. Nothing happened. “What do I do with this?”

The owl hooted. It sounded like laughter more than ever. “Give me. Warm. Give me. Soft.” Then it squawked like a parrot again.

“You want more stuff? Uh…” Sunset looked around her backpack, but she didn’t have anything else worth giving up.

As she was removing her hand from her pack, she spotted a glint of metal on one of her fingers. She grabbed at the evil eye ring and took it off, bringing it up to one of her eyes. This ring was supposed to get her life back as she killed monsters, but its effect was so minor, she had actually forgotten she had such a ring.

“Here,” Sunset said, taking the ring and putting it in the nest. The owl laughed and hopped down, taking the ring in its beak and tucking it away. Then the owl reached down into the hollow tree and took out something that definitely should not have fit in there. The object was round, about a meter across, and shone like polished azure glass. The owl dropped the shield, for shield it was, onto the ground.

Sunset picked up the shield. It was surprisingly light, with a grip in the center of the back, and a shimmery blue face. It looked fragile, like it should have been on display in a glassware store.

“Uh, thanks?” Sunset said to the owl.

The owl blinked at Sunset, then reached up with its beak and pulled down a shutter over the mouth of the hollow. There was a tiny scrap of parchment pinned to the shutter. It said ‘closed’.

“Well…” Sunset stared dumbfoundedly at the tree for a while. “What just happened?”

But she wasn’t complaining. She had gotten what looked like a useful piece of equipment. Looking at the shield in her hands, she waved it around, noticing just how light it was. She couldn’t tell how well it could withstand a blow from her enemies, but the shield was a shield at least; it would certainly be better than getting her arm sliced off by a sword. Of course, this meant she could not use her pyromancy flame with the shield equipped, but that seemed a fair trade for some extra protection.

“Right. Where to?”

The dark but lit forest ahead didn’t have any specific path, so Sunset wandered in, weaving around trees as she tried to find any form of direction she could follow to get to the end. It wasn’t long before Sunset found another living thing here besides the trees.

After rounding the next tree, Sunset came face to face with a skinny creature, its skin white as snow and its ears pointed back and up towards the top of its head. It didn’t have a nose, but two slits sprouted up next to its eyes, which were red in the dim light. It didn’t have any weapons, but its claws were long and sharp, likely able to deal damage even through her armor.

With a screech, the pale creature lunged at her, clawing at her almost immediately. Sunset ducked back behind the tree and spun around to the opposite side, jabbing her sword at the creature.

Sunset’s blade sank deep into the creature’s chest and it screamed and thrashed, slicing up the tree between them. With its midsection loosened, the tree fell with a heave, landing atop the creature, stifling its cries. Whatever these creatures were, they were fast, but they weren’t very sturdy.

“But not fast enough.” Sunset smiled to herself.

Once again, she was thankful to have received such combat skills. Without Emerald’s help, she didn’t know how far she would’ve gotten in this world. Perhaps she’d still be back at Theiros, City of the Lost.

Pressing on, Sunset slowed her approach, using the trees as her cover as she listened out for anymore signs of those pale creatures.

Besides that owl from earlier, the woods seemed devoid of any other form of wildlife. The usual calls of forest animals like birds, cicadas, insects or even bigger animals like bears were absent, with only Sunset’s footsteps being heard, along with the occasional snap of a twig somewhere close by, keeping Sunset’s senses on the edge.

She knew there were more of those creatures out there, but she couldn’t see them, at least not yet. After what felt like hours, Sunset had lost her bearings on where she was. Everything around her looked the same and she suddenly couldn’t tell which way was forward and which way was back.

And then another creature showed up, throwing both arms out and roaring at Sunset, the sudden sound making the girl jump back.

The pale creature swiped a hand at her, slashing across her shield as she raised it to defend herself. She heard a ripping sound and her entire body was jarred as she fell back, her arm hurting.

Sunset rolled away, dodging another slash as she threw her sword up, teleporting to it and falling against the creature, blade first. Her star sword punctured right through its neck and came out the other end, spraying dark blood across the forest floor.

The creature had stopped moving instantly, falling limb below Sunset as she took a pause to catch her breath. Unfortunately for her, another creature darted out from behind two trees and rammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground, stabbing its claws through her back at the same time.

Sunset winced with pain and dropped her shield. Conjuring a flame in her hand, Sunset faced her palm to the creature’s head and released a combustion spell, blasting it right off her back, also burning her own face in the process.

As the creature flailed its arms about, its entire body on fire, Sunset flipped herself around and downed an estus flask, immediately feeling herself heal. She even ran a hand down her face to see if it was still burnt, which to her relief, had returned back to normal as well.

Getting back to her feet, Sunset warily scanned the rest of the woods, looking out for more of these pale creatures. Before long, there was another sound of a twig snapping close by. Sunset wheeled around, and through the flame of the now dead creature, a familiar figure was illuminated, stopping just across from her.

“A-Applejack?” Sunset couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Sunset!” The cowgirl looked equally as surprised. “You’re here!”

“I should be the one saying that. How?” Sunset skittered up to her and threw her arms around her.

“Rarity and Ah fell here after Big Mac came at us.” Applejack’s outfit was a mess, with both her armored sleeves gone. Blood caked most of her garb and there were a few cuts across her face. “He vanished though, Ah reckon when ya entered the fog gate. He would’a killed us if not for that, so thanks for savin’ our butts, Sunset.”

Sunset chuckled lightly. “Wait, where’s Rarity?”

“I’m here.” The mage hobbled in from behind Applejack, using her staff as a walking stick. She didn’t look any better, sporting cuts all across her bloodstained robes, with even a massive gash across her torso. “It’s been dreadful, Sunset…”

After giving her a hug as well, Sunset removed two estus flasks from her pack and handed it to her friends. They looked like they had just trekked through Tarturus and back. Perhaps they actually did, seeing how deep they were. If they had fallen here from the Hollows…

Sunset looked up. That meant this forest was actually deeper underground than the Cataclysm Hollows.

“Great… Underground spaces…” Sunset sighed as her friends restored their energy through her flasks.

“Ooh, feels good to flex my leg again…” Rarity bent her right knee back and forth.

“Yeah, thanks, Sunset.” Applejack sniffed and removed Dragonslayer from her side. Sunset had actually missed seeing that weapon. “So, which way?”

“I’m… actually not sure.” Sunset scratched her head. “I was just going forward, at least, I think it’s forward. Then I met you two and these skinny ugly monsters.”

“Forward it is.” Applejack attempted to reach for her hat again, but it still wasn’t there. “Dagnabbit… Well, the three of us should be able to get through these ugly sons no problem. Rarity and Ah took some out on the way here.”

“Right. It’s good to have friends again.” Sunset smiled. This was going to be a lot easier with some backup, especially if all this forest had were those pale creatures. “Let’s go.”

Leading the way, Sunset kept her sword pointed ahead, while her other arm kept her shield close to her face. It might not have been good against the creatures’ claws, but it was better than nothing.

Three more of those creatures dropped in from the trees above, one of them carrying a crude dagger in one hand. Reacting quickly, Sunset had jumped out of the way of the first attacker, and while their attention was focused on her, Applejack had gotten behind the first one and her axe was already deep in its back, spraying out dark blood in her face as Rarity blasted the next one with a soul arrow.

With only the dagger one left, Sunset parried its first strike, then spun around with a horizontal slash, bisecting the pale creature in one fatal swipe. With her friends back with her, things were looking much easier indeed.

The three girls continued wandering through the dark forest carefully and vigilantly, neutralizing any of those pale creatures when they appeared. This was, by far, Sunset’s easiest location, but she knew this wasn’t it. This world wasn’t going to just sit back and watch her get to the last Flame of Death. There was likely something ahead that would give her more trouble than any of these creatures.

“So, any treasure you two have found yet?” Sunset asked her friends as they went down a small slope.

“Not even one.” Rarity pulled a twig from her hair and sighed. “Still, we’ve found a worthy cause, haven’t we, Applejack?”

“Ah suppose so.” The cowgirl gave Sunset a slap on the shoulder. “We’re gonna get ya home, Sunset. Even if it kills us.”

“Umm… I’d rather not die.” Rarity raised a hand and smiled meekly.

“Well, neither do Ah, but if it comes down to me or Sunset, Sunset’s the one who deserves to walk away from here.”

“But she has that immortal flame thing. She can’t die. Permanently.”

“Rarity’s right.” Sunset nodded. “I can come back. You girls can’t. If it’s between me or you, I won’t hesitate to sacrifice myself.”

“Well, uh… You know… It’s uh… hmm... ” Applejack scratched her head. “Ya raised a good point, Sunset. Ah can’t refute that even if Ah want to.”

“Good. That settles it then. You girls aren’t going to sacrifice yourself to get me home.”

Just as Sunset turned her head back to the front, something sharp flew by her and if she hadn’t turned her body fast enough, it would’ve gone right through her.

“Woah nelly!” Applejack grabbed her head and ducked down, while Rarity jumped back and squealed. “What was that?”

Sunset turned to see a spear sticking out of a tree behind them. It was a rather familiar looking spear.

“Watch out!” Rarity fired a bolt of magic at an approaching shadow.

The figure dodged it and a dagger appeared in her hands, aimed for Applejack’s chest.

“No you don’t!” Sunset was quickly between them, releasing a combustion in their attacker’s face.

Leaping back, the attacker got to a safe distance as her hood fell from her head, letting her long purple hair flow about. Sunset knew that feature anywhere. She’d already tried to kill her twice now.

“Psithyra…” she hissed and readied her star sword. Though this time, she wasn’t a phantom. She was actually here.

Psithyra smiled and waved, then took one step forward and pointed a finger down to the ground.

“Hey! That’s my hat!” Applejack was beside Sunset, Dragonslayer in her hands and pulsing lightning.

The fiery haired girl followed Applejack’s finger to Psithyra’s belt, where indeed, a hat hung on it. Now it all made sense. Of course Psithyra had it. She must’ve been the one turning Applejack and Rarity against each other, likely putting her disguise skills to good use.

“Ah’m gettin’ it back today!” With a roar, Applejack charged, her axe raised for the kill.

The cowgirl swung her weapon at Psithyra, but the changeling was already on the move, sprinting to cover behind a tree as she threw a trio of throwing knives at her. Applejack parried one away, but the other two lodged into her chest, knocking her back two steps, but at least they didn’t seem to have pierced deep.

Before she could react, another figure had dropped from the trees on top of her, planting his knees into her back.

“What in tarnation?!” Applejack muttered, then tried to get up, but couldn’t.

Sunset recognized the new attacker. He was wearing the same dark armor he had back at the Cataclysm Hollows. It was Big Mac and he seemed ready to kill his sister, holding his sword above her back.

“No!” Sunset teleported in a flash, slashing across Big Mac’s chest as he tried to bring the sword down.

Instead, he diverted his weapon and blocked Sunset’s attack, leaping back to avoid a followup uppercut.

Rarity stood by the side readying her magic, but she only let one bolt loose before she had to move when Psithyra dashed at her, using her little dagger to parry the changeling’s spear.

“There’s two of them now!” Rarity yelled and dodged Psithyra’s next two attacks. “Watch out!”

Psithyra poked at Rarity with her spear, then flung a trio of knives at the spellcaster. Rarity rolled away, keeping at a distance from her foe. She dodged between some trees and shot a blue bolt at Psithyra. But Rarity was to be disappointed if her strategy had been to injure her opponent. Psithyra closed the distance easily and took out her own catalyst. A blast of force sent Rarity tumbling onto the forest floor.

At the same time, Big Mac roared with rage and slashed at Sunset’s head. She fell backward trying to dodge it, and Big Mac would have impaled her had Applejack not hit him with her axe. It didn’t seem to penetrate his formidable armor, but it certainly got his attention. Big Mac wheeled around with a roundhouse kick that caught Applejack in the gut, winding her and sending the farm girl flying into a tree.

That sword is huge… Sunset thought as she clambered to her feet. And he’s swinging it around like a twig!

Meanwhile, Rarity ducked behind a tree as a trio of crossbow bolts buzzed after her.

“Why meeee!?” Rarity squeaked as a bolt tore through her hair. “Oh, now you’re going to pay-”

Rarity popped out from behind the tree with her staff aglow, but there was nobody there. Just a whole lot of shrubbery.

“Huh?”

The mage poked her staff at the undergrowth, checking that no one was hiding in it.

“Where did she…”

“Rarity! Watch out!” Sunset shouted from where she was dueling Big Mac. Rarity turned around and fell flat, barely missing a dagger aimed at her back.

“I have got to stop falling over like this,” Rarity said. With Psithyra right on top of her, there was no way she could miss. Rarity held up her staff and blasted Psithyra right in the front with a soul stream. The beam of blue energy launched her off her feet and into the woods.

“And that’s why you don’t mess with Rarity!” The spellcaster got up and spun her staff in her hand. Then she did a double take and gasped.

Psithyra was rising amongst the foggy trees, the clear orange glow of an estus flask in her hands.

“Oh, now that simply is not fair,” Rarity muttered. She drank down an ashen flask and prepared for battle once again.

---

Sunset had already downed her third estus flask when something cut her across her back, spraying blood up into the air as she fell to her knees, one hand instinctively reaching behind to grab at her injury. Her fingers came back warm and sticky and red, and she didn’t need to look at it to know it had hit something vital; she couldn’t feel her legs anymore.

“Fl-flask…” her bloodied hand dug around her pack for another estus flask, but Big Mac stepped before her, his skull mask leering down at her as he lifted his big sword to his shoulder.

Seeing no other option, Sunset removed the white flask from her pack and drank it as Big Mac lifted his sword over his head to strike her down. As strength returned to her and then some, Sunset raised her sword and halted Big Mac’s attack, much to his surprise. With light in her eyes, Sunset fired a combustion at him, launching him back into a tree hard enough to topple it. Psithyra witnessed the sudden burst of power and stopped her fight with Rarity, rushing over with her spear in hand. Sunset spun around with unbelievable speed and raised her shield as the enemy shot a bolt of magic at her. Surprisingly, the shield absorbed the blow of magic as though it was nothing.

Huh. So this shield is good for something after all.

Throwing her weapon at Psithyra, Sunset teleported to her and spun around with a followup slash, hitting the woman so hard that it knocked her right off her feet.

“Here we go!” Applejack was beside her, cutting down hard with Dragonslayer.

All the lightning in the weapon had been concentrated on one point: Psithyra’s midsection. With a strike hard enough to crack the dirt beneath Applejack’s feet, even the changeling’s eyes had widened with shock, not expecting such a quick outcome.

Her body lay in two halves as she began to dissolve, fading away into flakes in the air.

“Oh no ya don’t!” Applejack ran over and ripped her hat from the invader’s belt, dusting it off as Psithyra vanished completely. “Ah gotcha back! At long last!”

When she was satisfied with its cleanliness, Applejack placed it back on top of her head and turned it forward with a smile.

“Good, you got your hat back, but we could use some heeeeeelpppp!” Rarity lunged away as Big Mac chased after her with his greatsword.

“No you don’t!” Sunset blindsided him and knocked him down with her shield.

The invader rolled away and slashed up dirt at her, but Sunset wasn’t to be denied. With a swift dash, she charged right through the dirt and conjured a combustion in his face. Big Mac flailed back, rolling around to put the fire out, but Rarity came out from the side, using a soul spear to launch him into a tree.

Big Mac fell, the tree cracking and falling atop him, trapping him as he tried to reach for his sword.

“Mac, come on, it’s me.” Applejack was beside him, removing his helmet. Underneath it was the snarling face of Big Mac, whom Sunset had never seen so furious in her life. He was generally quite the laid back guy. “Come to your senses, ya hear me? It’s me, your sister.”

He continued to struggle, trying to free his arm to grab his sword. “Flame…! Mine! Must… have it!”

“He’s been here far too long.” Rarity walked over, using her staff to prop herself up. “He’s becoming hollow, just like all the others we’ve met on the way.”

“No, there has to be a way to get back to him!” Applejack placed a hand against his face. “Mac, come on. It’s me. Please, remember. This ain’t you. You’ve been corrupted by this place.”

His eyes swished to Sunset and he growled. “Must have it…!”

Sunset shook her head as her abilities wore off and her form returned to normal. “Big Mac, you know all of us. Back where I’m from, you’re my friend. You don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t know if this is going to work…” Rarity walked on ahead.

“Flame! Flame! Flame! Let me go! Let me go!” Big Mac began to yell as he struggled harder. “I must have it! I must have it! Give it to me!”

And then he suddenly burst up, shattering the tree above him as he dived for his sword. With almost blinding speed, he charged for Sunset, who readied her weapon, but before he could do anything else, a cry of surprise escaped his mouth and he stopped moving.

Electricity arced from his back as all eyes focused on Applejack’s Dragonslayer between his shoulder blades.

“Ah’m sorry, Mac…” Applejack began to sob as she ripped her weapon from his body. “Ah’m so sorry. Ya didn’t… Leave me any choice…”

Big Mac’s snarl never left his face, even as he began to fade away into nothing. Applejack collapsed alongside him, burying her face in her hands.

“AJ, it’s okay. It’s okay…” Sunset was immediate in trying to console her, squatting down beside her and wrapping her arms around her. “He didn’t leave you a choice. You saved me, Applejack.”

“But at what cost…” Applejack put down Dragonslayer beside herself. “Big Mac’s gone.”

“I…” Sunset didn’t know what she could say to do anything helpful. “I’m sorry, Applejack.”

“Just go on, Sunset.” The cowgirl remained unmoving. “You’ve got a job to do. Ya best get to it. Just… let me be here a while. Ah just need some time by myself…”

“What if… What if more of those things show up?” Sunset looked around the woods. Surely more of those pale creatures would’ve heard their battle with the two invaders. They would be coming. “You can’t just stay here alone.”

“She won’t be alone.” From behind her, Rarity returned, a serious look on her face and her brow furrowed in thought. “I went ahead to scout out the place, Sunset, and um… Bad news. We can’t go on with you.”

“Why’s that?”

The mage gulped. “It’s just beyond this tree line. The Abyss…”

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

Well that was a rollercoaster and no mistake.