Ghost Busting 3

by Edguy0009

Chapter 11

With a ding, the doors opened to the last floor before Eternal Rest's with it being a dance hall. Something that was a given, neon lights forming dancers along with tiles that lit up on the floor and other musical. However, the shaking caused by Eternal Rest earlier had taken its toll. There were neon lights that had fallen from the walls, many holes in the floor, parts of the ceiling collapsed along with the walls creaking.

If it was the same on the other floors, then the group were interested in hurrying through the ordeal quickly. There was now the chance of the hotel collapsing.

"How bad is it on yer end?" Apple Bloom asked.

"The basement's relatively untouched, I think the upper floors were the most effected by Eternal Rest's rage." Twilight said.

"Alright. But get the caravan ready ta move just in case the hotel starts collapsing, ya'll have ta get out ASAP."

"And leave ya behind? No way!" Applejack protested.

"We're too close to stop now." Kratus said, "And she's got me with her in case things go wrong."

"Fine…" Applejack groaned, "We'll get the engine started, so we can escape quickly."

"Hey!" Sweetie Belle said, having spotted something in the hole she was beside thanks to the tiles collapsing, "There's a secret room here."

"Wow!" Little Ghost exclaimed after entering the hole, "There's, like, a big vault with a mountain of gold down there. There're even gems!" She added, flying back up, "But it's behind bars, you'll need to give me the bag."

"Here." Apple Bloom said, giving the bag to Little Ghost who went back down, with the Makuta listening in on the conversation before the ghostly filly returned.

Cautiously, the group advanced through the devastated hallway the room was part of. At the right it ended in the dead end, turntables that were once on that wall were now on a bench with fragments of the ceiling, forcing the group to go left with tags containing dancers hidden by hoodies. After this, was a wall with a ticket counter followed by a shop divided in two parts, the first sold accessories such as purses or key chains along with designer clothes, the second selling regular clothes along with hats, both the first part of the shop and the ticket counter had registers with bits in them while the second part had a vault full of them. Of course, the shop was devastated.

Past the shop was another hallway that turned to the left and led to stairs tagged with arrows all the way to the double door top. However, an animated trash can attacked Apple Bloom in an attempt to eat her, though Kratus turned it to sludge with inorganic molecular disruption. Carefully, the group climbed the stairs and opened the doors.

The next room was as much as a disaster zone as the hallway, though this was partially cleared. The dance floor was completely cleared of debris. Behind the floor was a disco booth with turntables with speakers on both sides. Hanging from the ceiling, held only by cables, was a disco ball with Kratus remarking that he hasn't seen one of those in a while. On both sides of the floor having stairs that led to areas with tables and booths, what remained of them that is.

Then, the speakers turned on, blasting music as colored lights and the disco ball turned on with a brown pegasus mare with an afro that reminded the group of a fiery sun appearing from behind the disco booth.

"Woohoo! Our guests of honor has arrived, everypony! Time for the party to start, baby! Deathjay's here to put the floor on fiiire! Yeah!"

"Woohoo! Now we're talking!" Pinkie Pie said.

"Don't expect to join them." Twilight said.

"Aw... I know...."

Then the music stopped with the mare letting out a sigh.

"Listen, the four of you, before we start." She began before giving the group a warm smile, "I know I don't stand a chance against you. I'm nothing compared to the likes of Leyla, Ooga or Blackbeard. I'm just a DJ with the goal to make ponies bang their head to the rhythm. To tell you the truth, you grew on me. And heck, even if there's a high chance of you losing against Eternal Rest, I'm still totally rooting for you! I'm sure that you guessed that you." She said before Kratus interrupted.

"Got her angry?" He asked, earning a nod from the mare, "Good, she deserves what's coming to her. And frankly, she should be afraid, for a powerful Makuta is bearing down on her. One that will not stop until she falls." He added, "Though I suppose you won't hand the button over without a fight."

"Got that right, I'm a showmare. As a possible last performance, I can't simply hand you the button." Deathjay said with a wink with the music starting up again, "So, let's dance! But before our showdown, a little warm up! Come, boys!"

At her call, eight tricksters with hoodies like the ones shown in the hallway appeared on the dance floor and banged their heads to the rhythm of the music.

"Now, you four, if you want to face me, you'll have to defeat my boys first! The Poltergrooves! And to them expect for them to be easy to beat, they've mastered the art of dance battles!"

"But none of us know how to dance." Sweetie Belle said, "The only good dancer is… Scootaloo…"

Deathjay winced, "Yeah… sorry about your friend. But don't worry! You don't need to dance as long as you manage to defeat my boys! Of course, dancing would've helped a lot. Gotta dodge their punches in rhythm after all."

"It can't be too hard. Jus' gotta flow with the beat." Apple Bloom said, bobbing her head to the music.

Then the group got on the dance floor, facing the dancers.

As they were told, the fight was a difficult one. The ghosts were in perfect sync while perfectly following the music as they attacked with dance moves. As soon as one of the fillies trapped one in a vortex, the other ghosts worked together to free their comrade. More than in any other fight with the tricksters, they were punched and kicked… except for Kratus, who dodged, or tanked each one before delivering a punch or kick of his own as the fillies got better at synchronizing with the beat. Thus, one-by-one, they captured the ghosts, with each one making the fight easier.

Once they captured the last ghost, Deathjay applauded. The turntables continued to play without her.

"Bravo! I didn't expect anything less! Now, time for the finale!"

The mare flew to the dance floor, then started doing dance moves while grabbing vinyl records from nowhere. While this happened, what looked like fire surrounded her. The group couldn't decide if it was a ghostly aura or actual fire.

"Woooooh! I'm on fiiire! Let's get ready to rumble!"

Then the mare threw the records at the group, causing them to roll on the floor towards the group, leaving trails of fire. It almost took the group by surprise before they dodged the attack by jumping out of the way with the mare throwing records in the air that spun after landing before she started dancing and regularly sent records their way that either spun or headed towards them while leaving trails of fire with the mare doing the same as she moved.

"She wasn't joking when she said she put the floor on fire, or that she's on fire." Kratus said, allowing a record to phase through him using his density control.

Deathjay laughed at that, "I joke around a lot, sometimes take things a little too literally. Firestallions would likely hate me."

Apple Bloom started blowing air against the records, stopping them from rolling or spinning, sending away with the rest following their example, allowing them to approach Deathjay, who saw it before spinning while holding records as she created a fire whirl.

The group wasn't impressed with Kratus rolling his eyes before drawing in air; the fillies knew what would happen and went behind the Makuta, who unleashed a shockwave of compressed air, sending Deathjay into the wall while extinguishing her flames, even causing her afro to fall off, revealing a short black mane under it. The fillies started sucking the mare in, who didn't resist, only laughed.

"Well, it didn't last long. But, at least it was fun." She gave them a wink, "Good luck against Eternal Rest."

Then, she disappeared inside Little Ghost's poltergust, letting the button drop, the fires and records disappeared with her.

Apple Bloom took the button.

The one to floor fifteen.

This was it, the last one before the end.

But before that, they had to return to the elevator as everything on the floor came to life as they didn't want to waste time fighting them, though when any got too close, Kratus used disintegration or fragmentation on them.

They were here. The final floor. They encountered and fought ghosts along the way, some very powerful.

A bellhop.

A maid.

A night guard.

A cook.

A famous pianist.

An emperor.

A mad gardener

A filmmaker that didn't fight.

A cavepony.

A mechanic.

A queen of an ancient civilization.

Three magicians.

A pirate captain and his crew.

An athlete, then a DJ, and there was the cat that was pulverized by Kratus.

Now they were fighting the owner of the hotel. Probably one of the most powerful ghosts in the world besides Thanatos, though Kratus was likely stronger than the former in terms of raw power. But he was more experienced with his power than both of them, something he'll take full advantage of.

The fillies felt a lot of trepidation as they heard the ding of the elevator, and it wasn't without reason, Eternal Rest was very powerful, more powerful than any of the ghosts they've encountered so far. She was also very angry that they captured the cat. In her anger, she damaged the hotel. The group didn't know how much damage it took, making it likely that the hotel could collapse at any second. Finally, it was also Eternal Rest's floor. Who knows what obstacles she might have. But she wasn't the only one angry.

Kratus also felt anger, vengeful anger, focused solely on Eternal Rest, and a vengeful Makuta is not something one wants to trifle with, or have bearing down on them. Even more so when said Makuta also hates someone like Eternal Rest. But his anger was also mixed with worry. One that was directed to the mare's prisoners, living or dead. And what she might've done to them, especially since she's angry now. In other words, they feared to see the state that Starlight Glimmer, Fluttershy and Scootaloo are in.

Still, as the doors opened, the group got ready for anything as they left the elevator. Though once they were on the floor, they saw how classy it was. For starters, the floor, walls and ceiling were polished marble. The windows were large and gave nice a view of the surrounding lands. The Elevator shaft was inside glass walls. There were also two crystal vases with a comfy couch between them.

Right now, they were in the corner of the room, most of it hidden by the elevator behind them, forcing them to go to the left to see more. Against the wall behind the elevator. Was a huge projection screen. In the middle of the room in front of the screen was a squared lowered area that had couches in the four corners with round tables at the between them at the left and right, in the room's right was an elevated part full of sand and a withered tree.

Surprisingly, there was almost no damage done to the floor. Just some cracks in the marble, stuff on the tables fallen onto the floor, vases on their sides. Either Eternal Rest avoided causing too much damage to the floor. It was sturdier than the rest of the hotel, or she did some repair before the group arrived, though the Makuta found the second reason rather illogical.

Still, there were two problems with the floor. First, there were pony statues in the corners, a macabre reminder it was Eternal Rest's floor and what she did to her victims. The second was that the mare had a fixation on Thanatos, as many things reminded the group of him. The rims of the windows formed his skull seen on the front. The same thing was drawn on the floor in the square space in front of the couches, another was present on the wall beside the tree. Finally, the vases had crystal leads shaped like the top of his skull.

"It seems that she's a fanfilly of Thanatos." Apple Bloom said before they heard Eternal Rest's voice.

"I wouldn't qualify myself with a foalish term." She said her face appeared on the screen, revealing that she was in a room full of screens that showed the group at various angles. The mare herself was as Apple Bloom and Kratus remembered. She looked at the group with a smile that was genuine as it was fake. "I would rather say that I respect Lord Thanatos a lot." She said with a chuckle. "So the four of you managed to reach my floor. To be frank, I'm not surprised. I expected this moment, the moment your friends joined you. However, I have no doubt that if you were alone, I would've won the game by now. Lucky you. Friendship is magic. I think that is what they say in this day and age. Well, let's see how far this magic will lead you now that you've reached my floor."

"Obviously, it'll lead us ta ya." Apple Bloom said.

Eternal Rest laughed. "Maybe, but I have small doubt, because you see." She said before waving a hoof, and from off-screen floated a small doll shaped like a familiar yellow pegasus, Fluttershy who looked very frightened. Everypony gasped at the sight and shouted the doll's name, before Eternal Rest shocked the doll with purple lightning with the doll screaming in pain with Apple Bloom demanding the mare to stop, "You see Apple Bloom and Kratus, you've made me very angry. You captured my sweet little Polterkitty! I swear to you, for this, I will torment you a thousand." The mare said, only for Kratus to interrupt with a roar subconsciously amplified by Power Scream and Sonics, causing objects in, and the room itself to shake as the roar echoed through the floor, resulting in all eyes turning to an absolutely livid Kratus.

Angering a Makuta to where they turn vengeful and come after you is a mistake. Further angering an already vengeful Makuta bearing down on you is a bigger mistake, Doubly so if the Makuta is powerful as Kratus. And wouldn't you know it? Eternal Rest did both things, which also earned her the direct hatred of the Makuta which is quite the achievement as he commonly hates the sin, not the sinner, with all three actions done in one night winning her the title of The Dumbest Ghost of The Year. Her prize? A very angry and equally vengeful Kratus bearing down on her who's subconsciously manipulating the shadows, causing them to wiggle and writhe.

"The only one who will suffer torment is you." He said, his voice eerily calm, the only things betraying his anger were the earlier roar and the almost blurred movement of the shadows, "So, prepare for your end. For the only mercy you'll get from me when I'm through… is oblivion!" The Makuta added, snarling the last word before the mare screamed while clutching her head as she felt something sending images of darkness tormenting her before she felt fear as the images stopped, "But, only after you will feel the full might of my wrath." Kratus said as tendrils of shadow appeared in the room Eternal Rest was in, surrounding her before they disappeared, "And there is nowhere that can hide you from it, because I will destroy anything that stands in my way." He said before using fragmentation on the vases and furniture, "What you just saw was but a prelude of what is to come." He told the mare before instilling fear into the mare. Who cut the connection as a result, but not before telling them that she upped the difficulty of the floor.

Then purple lightning bolts struck the statues, giving them life before the Makuta destroyed them by using disintegration once more with more appearing from the ceiling, even Fluttershy's which was armored. Though as it attacked, a portal created by Samuel appeared with the possessed statue entering it, and the deity, knowing how fond his friend was of Fluttershy, used his power to free the mare's body from its control in order to free it from its prison for a proper burial later on, as he summoned the coffin that was made before he became a god, changing it to fit the dead mare, the shape of the gems were shaped like butterflies while its color turned to that of the mare's coat and mane before continuing to watch the progress of his friend and his companions with Sweetie Belle having found a way out of the room while hoping the growing darkness inside their shared friend doesn't take control.

After Little Ghost pulled the chain in the secret area that Sweetie Belle found that caused the screen to rise that revealed a double door, with the group entering the hallway.

Which was a hallway of horror, going in three directions, left turned to the right, right turned to the left, with the center turning to both, it was also full of statues, then they heard something rolling from the left part of the hall and what they saw surprised them.

It was Scootaloo's scooter, rolling alone.

Just as the group wondered what it was doing there, it charged them with them noting the small spear it had, ready to impale Apple Bloom. Well… tried to as Kratus smashed it with his Shadow Hand, breaking it. Only for it to self repair in a manner similar to the Nektann robots he uses as part of his army and the defenses for facilities under his control.

So, it's one of those possessed objects. Apple Bloom and Kratus thought before Apple Bloom remembered something that there were two types of possessed objects, ones directly possessed the ghost, and one where the ghost is bound to the object, becoming part of it with the more powerful ghosts requiring a way to unbind the ghost with Apple Bloom knowing one way to unbind an object. But, she had a hunch on whom the ghost bound to the object was with the Makuta undoing the mind control over the ghost, and confirmed Apple Bloom's suspicion.

"Uh…" The scooter began, turning its handlebar to the group one-by-one, "Why… do I feel so…? I can't feel my mouth when I talk."

"That's because you're bound to your scooter." Kratus said bluntly, "But, you'll get used to it." He added as Sweetie Belle hugged the handle bar awkwardly, "We can discuss this at another time." He said as purple lightning bolts struck the statues and furniture, bringing them to life. An effort in futility as the Makuta disintegrated each one, though the golden statue of polterkitty he melted with his heat vision, There were also lasers, with Twilight surprised at their presence, using the same energy that the antighost energy devices used, and they used the mundane solution of using the door near the windows, said door led to a library that had two levels. The upper level they were on was a path circling to the left before ending in a staircase to the lower level.

The shelf to their left and the wall they could see had what looked like regular stairs before they turned upside down and crossed each other in the middle. With what appeared to be, at the center, a picture of Thanatos' skull. Under it, in the lower level, was an alcove with a key with an orange gem shaped like Thanatos' skull at the head, said alcove had lasers that harmed ghosts mixed in with regular lasers, with a generator with a lever on the other side, no problem for Kratus, who summoned a tendril of shadow that pulled the lever, shutting the generator off before grabbing the key after teleporting there. And in an act of spite, destroyed the picture of Thanatos with disintegration as the fillies told Scootaloo what had gone on since her death before the filly decided to join them, reuniting the CMC with the group returning to the hallway with Kratus teleporting him, Little Ghost and Apple Bloom across with ghosts appearing and avoiding the antighost lasers for the first time since the group arrived to attack with their movement making their capture easier before the group went through the second half of the hallway retrieved the remaining keys to the Thanatos Skull with one of the rooms, being a bedroom with the bed with pillows shaped like Thanatos' skull with a rocking chair with a sewing kit nearby, along with a desk and chair what was also there horrifying the group while further angering Kratus. Their numbers exceeding at least a hundred hanging from the ceiling, on the walls, bed, shelves were dolls, all alive, for they were the victims of Eternal Rest.

The dolls turned to the group, disbelieving that there were fillies there while unsure of Kratus, but any could tell from the look in his eyes that he was silent with ever-growing fury as the fillies talked to the dolls before the Makuta spoke.

"I swear… " He growled, clenching his fists as his armor darkened. "I swear by the very shadows that gave birth to me. That when I'm through with her, Eternal Rest will know what you have felt… A THOUSAND FOLD!" He added with a snarl. Those that could do so after hearing his declaration gulped while those that couldn't wish they could. Either way, they all were unsure if they should be glad that karma is catching up to her, or fear for her, though one doll, a colt, spoke.

"C-c-c-can you really torment her the way she tormented us?" He asked.

"She will find that the only mercy from me she'll get... is oblivion if there's anything left of her mind." Kratus replied before tricksters armed with various objects and buffies with odd gauntlets, the dolls warning them of what they did, resulting in Kratus destroying the gauntlets with creepers appearing shortly. But like the rest, it ended in their capture with the Makuta retrieving the key before the group transported them out of the room with them surprised that there was another alicorn when Twilight Sparkle appeared, earning them an explanation before the alicorn took them back to the caravan.

This left Starlight Glimmer and Fluttershy to save from Eternal Rest, who will learn that the shadows are not to be trifled with.

The room the right of the entrance of the hallway was the last room to explore with the fillies revealing the door with the DLD with said room an art room with an upper part, three sofas looking very comfortable with two of them on the upper part near the bookshelves that had books and other things in the corners with the third one in the center of the room, and behind it was a phonograph and an… or there was an image of Thanatos as Kratus destroyed it with disintegration as the fillies emptied a hidden chest using a crystal vase shaped like Thanatos' skull before using it to find the last key and turn off the lasers with the Makuta destroying it with disintegration before they left the room and returned to the giant Thanatos skull and inserted the last two keys, revealing it to be a door as it opened. Then, the remaining ghosts inside the hotel appeared with the door shutting once more.

Kratus, having had enough of them, gathered energy around his sword and with one swipe of his blade unleashed chain lightning that made a loud crack as hit the first ghost before leaping to the others, but if that didn't stun them, then him using fear did, each ghost frozen in terror, with the fillies that could, capturing each ghost before the door opened.

Already, they could see Eternal Rest behind a slightly damaged desk with Fluttershy on it. Behind them were the screens they saw earlier, and next to it was an unconscious Starlight Glimmer inside a cage.

"So… you made it here, despite everything I threw at you. You captured my minions and my pet, passed all my traps, solved all my puzzles, and saved everypony except those two. Good job, I'm sure Lord Thanatos is very entertained by this. It was all a." She said before she, along with the others there, shuddered. With only one knowing what was happening, and he was worried for both his friend and Eternal Rest. The former because he was unintentionally feeding the growing darkness inside. The latter because she will find no mercy from the former other than destruction.

He was very angry, for he had enough; enough of the hotel. Enough of Eternal Rest. Enough of these games. And most certainly had enough of Thanatos. The latter two he could do nothing about right now, with the contrary true for the former with the current target of his wrath continuing, but when she started ranting after Little Ghost contradicted something she said, he laughed.

"So, you've been around for thousands of years, and three tribes gave you a title." Kratus began, "Big deal, I've been around longer, even to the point where magic came into existence on the world I call home before the ponies walked. And I'm more dangerous than you, for I've torn countries asunder through my power alone, and now that power is turned against you… worm." He added, his voice hiding his rage by a very slim thread before the mare ranted again before she possessed Starlight Glimmer and gloated, causing him to laugh again.

"Why are you laughing?!" Eternal Rest asked, only to earn a smile from the Makuta.

"You think possessing Starlight Glimmer will prevent us from stopping you?" Kratus asked, "Guess again, because two can play that game." He added before a greenish-black mist left his armor, "Protect my body, old friend." He said before a portal opened up as the last of the mist left his body with his armored form falling through as the mist entered Starlight Glimmer's body.

"You're not a ghost! Only ghosts can possess others!" Eternal Rest exclaimed.

"I am a being of energy, and as being of energy I can possess many things, be they living or not." Kratus said, speaking through Starlight Glimmer. "And now that ability is turned against you."

"Even so, I shall win as I make you-" Eternal Rest began.

"The one who will pay… is you." Kratus interrupted, "Now, time. For. Your. END!" He added as the battle of wills began. On one end was Eternal Rest. On the other end was Kratus and Starlight Glimmer.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Body!" The mare said, having gained the resolve to fight back thanks to the Makuta.

"If you insist, but first…" Eternal Rest said, red cracks appeared all over Starlight Glimmer's body with blood seeping out, only for them to disappear.

"Nice try worm." Kratus said smugly, "Now Little Starlight, ready to end this fight for your body?"

"You didn't need to ask." Starlight replied as the final push for control of her body began.

"Now, time for me to punish you further." Eternal Rest said to the defeated Makuta and the fillies before she heard his voice, surprising her.

"On the contrary. You are the one who's undergoing punishment." Kratus said, amused at the mare's reaction.

"That's impossible, you're on the ground!" She said, glancing at the Makuta on the ground, only to find him and the others missing as the scene changed from a from the suite, to a black void with only a gray floor present before she heard Kratus' laughter as a gigantic version of him rose from below with only his upper torso visible with his hand reaching out to grab her, only for her to run away. Or tried to as she found strings attached to her, with the strings attached to a wooden "X" as if she was a marionette, with the Makuta acting as the marionettist.

"Now, it's your turn to be the one manipulated like a toy." Kratus said before manipulating the strings while he laughed and mocked her.

Once the strings disappeared, the mare fell to the floor, though the Makuta's hand was still above her, and that was the last thing she ever saw before she found herself back at the hotel that was full of webbing as a horde of spider-like creatures wandered about, sometimes some differently colored armored figures with spines on their backs wielding staffs accompanied them, then she heard the Makuta's laughter echoing off the walls as she ran through the halls, only to find herself back at the suite as the silhouette of the Makuta appeared.

"Do you like what I've done to the place?" He asked, amused.

"Change it back!"

"Mmm… No." Kratus responded before he appeared from the silhouette, causing the mare to scream.

She was in a labyrinth of a cave network, running through the dark cavern as differently colored armored figures with back spines pursued her before she saw a light and rushed towards it, only to find herself in another part of the maze, one that went on forever. The fact that she managed to lose her pursuers gave her little comfort, though she swore she heard Starlight Glimmer's voice telling her to get out. Then, she heard the footsteps of the Makuta approaching with her hiding behind a stone column, only to find the Makuta in front of her.

"I told you that you can run, but you can't hide from me." He said, causing the mare to scream as she ran, doing anything to get away from her tormentor, which is exactly what the Makuta wanted. With Eternal Rest hearing Starlight Glimmer.

"And stay out of my body!" She said, though the ghostly mare deemed it a figment of her imagination.

The screaming mare that was Eternal Rest flew out of Starlight Glimmer as she heard the laughter of Kratus from the mare while his Antidermis left her and repossessed his armor with her realizing she had left Starlight Glimmer's body "Your screams are music to my ears, even after a thousand times of torment." The Makuta said after his laughter died down, but the amusement was still there. "But… your torment is not yet over." He added, approaching the mare.

Eternal Rest was frustrated at the fact that she, who had been around as a ghost for millennia, honing her skills, was tricked by this… armored golem in front of her, "How dare you trick me into leaving my last trump card!" She growled, attempting to repossess Starlight Glimmer, only to find something preventing her from repossessing the mare as Kratus stood over her.

"That's what you get for messing with a Makuta that's millions of years old." The Makuta said in a smug tone, "Not that my age matters, even a Makuta that's only a hundred years old could trick you." He added before his tone returned to normal. "Now, time for me to teach you why angering me is a bad idea."

"We'll see about that." Eternal Rest snarled as Starlight Glimmer recovered, glaring at the mare who possessed her body, though when the ghost tried to hypnotize her… she found that she couldn't.

"Current score: Makuta- 2. Dumbest Ghost In Existence- 0." Kratus said smugly.

"I am not dumb!"

"Compared to most ghosts that challenged me, you are. For you see, unlike them, you have angered me to where that I will enjoy taking my time tearing your mind apart… piece… by… PIECE!" Kratus said, snarling at the last part before unleashing a mental attack against the mare who fled. With the group joined by Applejack following her after Twilight took Fluttershy to the caravan to move it.

The group pursued Eternal Rest to the rooftop; the Makuta having already turned his sword back into a swordstaff while his armor darkened.

This was it, the final showdown between two powerful forces, one a powerful ghost, the other a group of ponies, undead, and a Makuta, all united in one immediate goal; bringing Eternal Rest down.

Eternal Rest started the battle by flying out of range of the poltergusts after a storm that unleashed purple lightning with the mare causing lightning to strike the roof, with one striking every second.

A perfect backdrop for awesome final battle.

Two can play that game. Kratus thought, gathering electrical energy around the blade of his swordstaff before he unleashed it. With an earsplitting crack, the bolt hit Eternal Rest while avoiding Little Ghost, who managed to get close enough to the stunned mare before she teleported to avoid it, Eternal Rest attempted to throw Apple Bloom and Applejack off the roof with her magic after the latter grabbed the former. Only for the Makuta to summon a tendril of shadow that grabbed them before returning them to the roof with Apple Bloom forming a plan, since Eternal Rest wanted to kill Apple Bloom and Kratus the most, they'd draw her attention while the other poltergust users got close before they joined in, and the plan worked as they trapped Eternal Rest and slammed her into the ground before escaping. Then… Kratus drew in air. The force of the wind would cause trees to move before suction stopped.

Kratus smirked before unleashing the absorbed air with a force that would demolish Ponyville and severely damage Canterlot Castle, and Eternal Rest felt its full force before The Makuta's Shadow Hand pulled the mare towards him as she heard his voice in her mind.

"I told you before, your torment has only begun." He said as his Shadow Hand held the mare in front of him. Then… she screamed, undergoing the mental torment he promised he'd give her before pulling out and delivering a punch with the mare angered before she used dark magic against the group with most of them avoiding it while the Makuta absorbed the attacks before the area darkened before light returned. Apple Bloom knew what it meant, she'd seen it before when she and Kratus faced Pyrite. Kratus was using it to charge his Midak Skyblaster before unleashing it in a powerful beam that engulfed Eternal Rest, that once the beam dissipated, revealed the mare though weakened, could still fight with her drawing Apple Bloom towards her with a vortex before she countered with Little Ghost attempting to draw the mare in, only Eternal Rest to trap her in a crystal that fell before the filly ghost shattered it with her power and used a shard to stab the mare with Little Ghost capturing the mare in her poltergust before the mare escaped, something that repeated once more, each time Kratus used a different power to harm the mare.

Then… his patience ran out as his Shadow Hand surged out, grabbing the mare before slamming her into the roof before pounding away with the mental attacks starting again, each one grinding down the mare's mind like a river carving a canyon. Though the process would take years, maybe decades or centuries. Either way, Kratus would enjoy destroying her mind before he stopped, leaving her a babbling mess or catatonic before giving her the mercy of oblivion by using his Shadow Hand to absorb her and crushing what was left of her mind. But, that was for later, as either by the Makuta pulling out or she ejected him from her mind, the torment stopped. Not like it mattered as the ghost was weakened by both assaults, not enough for her to remain in a poltergust after her capture again, but enough that the fight wouldn't last longer, but it also meant that the mare was unleashing more attacks, primarily against Kratus as he was the one that did the most damage to her, and he was the one that harmed her "precious" polterkitty that led to the cat's capture. Try as she might, she couldn't defeat the Makuta and Apple Bloom, but she could take them with her as she entered Apple Boom's poltergust, with both falling into a portal with Samuel unable to redirect it.

The two of them fell out of the portal, Apple Bloom on her belly, Kratus on his back… again, with the two groaning as they got up and saw that they weren't alone on the roof of where they landed.

There were three others.

The first was a bipedal figure possessing a mustache, green clothes with blue overalls, white gloves, shoes, a green cap with a green "L" in a white spot, though Apple Bloom was shocked at the sight of a poltergust that was different from hers as it had a tube, Kratus was not as he had traveled different dimensions many times.

The second being looked exactly like the first except made of slime, cloths and poltergust included.

The third was a ghost, a big white round one with short arms, big fangs on the top of its mouth, and a crown with a big, glowing purple gem.

All of them were looking at them, the first was surprised, and intimidated at the sight of Kratus, the ghost had a pronounced scowl; the slime waved at them and gave a high-pitched hello.

"What is this interruption?" The ghost asked.

This day just got interesting. I just hope Samuel can find me… again. Kratus thought, noticing that his swordstaff reverted back into a sword as Apple Bloom had different thoughts.

Well… buck…