Death, Sacrifice, and the man in blue

by MrTyrannousaurusX

Chapter 10: The Two Sisters

Rainbow Dash handed the taller man his hat as he slid it onto his head, feeling naked without it. The group ventured deeper into the Everfree Forest as the path under their feet changed color once more, turning from a dark brown to a deep swampy green. The area around them also looked swampy, brush and various multicolored plants and weeds stuck out from the ground on all sides. Mushrooms jutted from the dirt like sore thumbs, his feet threatened to sink into the ground with every step, but the most disgusting thing to out rule them all was the smell. Levi’s nostrils were attacked with a putrid, rancid smell of mud and rotting animals as they made their way deeper into the swamp. The odor made his eyes water and combined with the humidity of the swamp, despite it being in the middle of the night, made for an extremely unenjoyable experience.

He gagged as he closed his nose with his fingers, finally escaping the stench, as Rainbow Dash grinned at him playfully and said “Can’t handle it?” she snickered at his annoyed look that was shot at her.

“Don’t act like you’ve been through worse” He rebutted.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the sweaty man, “Who’s to say I haven’t?”

“Well I dunno..have you?” He questioned, his voice sounding a lot more nasally from his closed nose, making it hard for the pegasus to take him seriously.

“I’ve been to a lotta places Levi, I’m the fastest flyer in Equestria after all!” She boasted, putting a hoof up to her puffed out chest as Levi raised an eyebrow at her.

“The fastest?” “Yep!” She replied with a hyperactive nod, “What about the Wonderbolts?”

“You know about the Wonderbolts?”

“Of course I do,” He answered, “Who doesn’t ?”

“I just thought..nevermind,” She replied, shaking her head, “But I’m on the reserves!”

Levi gave her an impressed look as he thought back to how Spitfire flew for miles carrying the weight of a fully grown man. If she was the captain and was able to do that, he could only imagine how high her standards are for the members.

“Really?”

“Yuh-huh” She nodded rapidly, looking like her brain was rattling in her skull, with a huge grin on her face. “It’s been my dream ever since I was a filly!”

“So I guess you know Spitfire then?” He asked. She nodded in response. “Man, she’s great, she carried me to Canterlot from Ponyville”

Her eyes widened in surprise like she couldn’t believe what she was being told, but at the same time, she knew how well Spitfire could fly and she wouldn’t doubt she would be capable of such a feat. “Really?” She asked, her turn to question what was being said to her.

“Yup,” He replied with a nod, “I don’t know how she did it, carrying someone such as myself”

She giggled at his comment and responded with “You can’t weigh that much”

“Probably more than you”

As the pegasus and the man chatted for what seemed like hours as they trudged through the swamp and made the trip a little more bearable for the both of them, Rarity on the other hand was not very satisfied.

“Ohhh..my eyes need a rest from all this..icky muck” She complained in her usual dramatic tone she acquired in slightly inconvenient situations. She flicked some dark brown mud off of her hoof, the smell of decay invaded her nostrils like her hoof was some sort of plug for the putrid odor. She winced in disgust and wiped her nose as her blue eyes started to water.

The group continued walking and reached a row of trees on either side with thick bushy tops that stretched to either side of one another. They connected and formed a barrier above them where no light could penetrate between the leaves. Twilight looked up and saw the moon eerily disappear behind the leaves as the once dimly lit trail was now thrusted into an almost pitch black darkness. Levi started to feel anxious with each step they took in the dark, fearing the worst of what could be lurking in the shadows, unseen and unheard until it was too late. After all, if there was a manticore in this forest, anything was on the table for what could jump at them next.

“I didn’t mean that literally” Rarity added as she and the other ponies looked up in sync, confused as to where the moon and its light suddenly went. Levi peered and squinted his eyes in the dark in an attempt to see anything but the only thing he could make out was the iris of the ponies that seemed to cut through the dark. Their eyes collectively began to adjust to the darkness, allowing them to see the faint outlines of one another and were able to make out who was who in the impenetrable darkness.

“The ruin could be right in front of us and we wouldn’t even know it” Twilight chimed.

Profuse apologies from Rarity followed as she spoke hastily and Twilight replying with a polite admission of blame back and forth between the two. Apologies, admission. Apologies, admission.

The blonde pony looked down in disgust at her hooves as she felt a lukewarm sludge cake them as a revolting squelch was heard. Her face twisted as she raised her hoof and looked at the brown mud dripping from it, struggling to hold back the urge to gag at the odor. “I think ah stepped in somethin’” She commented aloud as she shook her hoof off like it was no big deal, Fluttershy’s horrified face looking in front of her confused her. Was she that scared of some mud? She let out a petrified shriek as she pointed her hoof in the space in front of Applejack, she couldn’t make out what she was so scared of in the inky black darkness in front of her.

She planted her hoof back down in the mud and began walking forward like she was originally, replying to Fluttershy’s unwarranted fear with “It’s just mud-” her sentence was cut abruptly by her walking face first into a hard wall.

She rubbed her forehead and adjusted her hat as she backed up a few steps away from the force blocking her path. Like it was on cue, her emerald eyes adjusted to the darkness and the tree that towered over her stared at her with a menacing face engraved in its bark. Its round spiral eyes that looked crudely carved stared daggers into her as its contorted mess of a mouth full of shark-like teeth gnashed at her. The edges of the bark were a deep red and the branches were situated on its sides right in the middle of its trunk.

The other ponies seemingly noticed it too, as they all let out a terrified scream in unison. Levi looked at the tree in confusion and fright as a mumbly “W-what the hell” escaped his lips. His hand clamored behind him as they fumbled on his rear, his fingers eventually finding themselves around the handle of his switchblade. The blade shot out as he gripped it in his hand, ready to battle any threat in the darkness at a moment's notice.

Tres transformed all around them, their bark being replaced by the twisted amalgamation of features like the trees suddenly came to life with evil intent. Burning holes into the back of their heads with their sinister stare from their lifeless eyes. The ponies screamed in terror as Levi whipped his head around in every direction and met the gaze of every tree, the cacophony of noise combined with the darkness becoming overwhelming for the man. The walls of trees that surrounded them on either side now became these horrifying trees as they all felt eyes peering at them from every direction.

They all slowly backed away from the trees and their backs collided in the middle of the path, a pair of eyes watching from every angle, preparing for something to jump out at any second. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the knife as hard as he could as he looked over his shoulder, his eyes widened when he saw no brightly colored pink pony in the circle they had formed. In fact, as he looked around, he couldn’t seem to find her anywhere. Her vibrant pink coat would’ve stood out in the darkness like it had been up to this point, Levi’s heart flooded with dread as he desperately double checked all around him but still had no sight on the pink pony.

“PINKIE!” He called out alarmed, desperation coating his voice as worry overtook him. The group noticed Levi’s concern and subsequently realized Pinkie was nowhere to be found. “PINKIE! WHERE ARE YOU!” Twilight called out after him, mirroring his concern and worry for the party pony wellbeing.

“PINKIE!” Rainbow’s voice followed.

“SAY SOMETHING!” After no more than a second of silence thick with tension, a very familiar and out of place giggle could be heard from a foot away from them. In disbelief, they all turned their heads to the source of the laughter and found Pinkie, standing out in the darkness as usual, but standing in front of one of the many demented trees. They all couldn’t believe there eyes and ears as they watched Pinkie stand in front of the tree and staring right into its carved eyes with her crystal blue ones, giggling like it was no big deal.

“Pinkie! What are you doing!” Twilight exclaimed, watching as Pinkie made faces at the tree and continued giggling at it continuously, like a mouse taunting a lion. Pinkie turned her head to make eye contact with the group before replying with “Oh come on girls! It’s just a tree!”

“Trees don’t look like that Pinkie!” Levi quickly rebutted, “They could be dangerous!”

“They don’t look dangerous to me!” She replied in her usual pip voice, beginning to spring into the air as she usually did, touching her hoof to the tree's nose with an audible ‘Boop!’ coming from the Pinkie. As one of her trademark giggles followed her playful booping, the ponies took another look at each of the trees with this newfound advice from Pinkie. The sound of her bouncing in circles around them and completely ignoring the trees released the tension building in the air and lifted the spirits of each of them. Levi’s knuckles returned to their normal color as he loosened his grip on the blade.

Their faces softened as they all exchanged glances before looking a third time at each of the trees and realizing that Pinkie was right, they were just trees, trees with faces that is. “She’s right,” Levi broke the silence as his blade slid back inside, “They’re just trees everybody”

He slid his knife back in his pocket as he felt a grin forming on his face unwillingly, the pink pony’s crystal blue irises caught on to his grin almost immediately on one of her bouncing rounds around the group. “That’s the spirit!” She loudly exclaimed as his grin grew wider as she began to let out her signature laugh.

The rest of the group’s faces turned from distress to much happier as they all looked at the once harrowing trees and began to mirror Pinkie’s infectious laughter as it spread like wildfire throughout the group. They’re laughing grew louder and more elated as they were past the point of no return and found it almost impossible to stop laughing, Levi couldn’t help but give in to the urge to laugh as well. Suddenly, the tree Pinkie was giggling at that started this laughing fit turned back to normal. The group paid no mind to it as more and more trees began to turn back to normal one after another, the nightmare they were experiencing becoming nothing more than a thing of the past as the final tree went back to normal. Levi glanced at one of the trees as tears formed in his eyes from laughter and, for the first time in his life, felt relief that a tree was the way it was supposed to be.

A thump was heard as Twilight hit the ground and was laying on her back, laughing and snorting all the while, as the rest of the ponies followed and dropped like flies one after another. A tear ran down his cheek as his stomach ached from the constant laughter as his knees made contact with the mud below him, his kneecaps sinking a few inches into the mud as the lukewarm sludge threatened to seep through his denim. Despite the odor attacking his senses, Levi continued to laugh and blocked out the smell like it didn’t even exist.

His green eyes made their way over to the pink pony laughing giddily on her back in a pile of the ponies and could still make out her vibrant form through the blurriness in his vision. Her positive energy radiated from her and and and a cheerful aura formed around her and seemed to follow her everywhere she went. He felt it and he was sure everyone was too, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He had no idea how lucky he was to have friends like them after he fell from the sky just a day ago. His smile grew wider as his cheek muscles grew sore as his laughter continued to fill the air and added to the mixture of different laughters like a brewing potion. Despite the circumstances of his arrival in Equestria, he was glad he did.

The springing sound of Pinkie’s bouncing drowned out every other sound as she led the way further through the forest on their way to the castle. The skin of Levi’s kneecaps rubbed uncomfortably on the dried mud on his jeans and his shoes looked filthy, adding to his disheveled appearance even more. The group followed each other closely as they moved in a line about half a foot behind Pinkie as she bounced, a big goofy grin displayed on her face which was normal for the pink pony.

The moonlight above masked by the trees now shined bright once again, repelling the darkness that cloaked them just minutes before. The stench got weaker and weaker the more they walked further into the forest, allowing the group to breathe a breath of fresh air. The ground hardened the more they walked and transformed from the soft rancid smelling mud to solid ground. The only sound to be heard was the white noise of the happy chirping of crickets and the giggling from the ponies in the group and the occasional words that were shared between them about the memory.

After a short time of walking, with Pinkie still being the leader of the march, the sound of a ruthless rushing river suddenly made itself known. Curiously, the group quickened their pace and walked closer and closer to the source of the sound as it grew louder the more they approached it. The group rounded a corner and after several more steps, came face to face with the source of the sudden sound.

It was a brilliant blue violent rushing river, the waves spiraling and diving back into the water like graceful dolphins. The river looked like a beautiful painting, the waves looking like spinning turbines as they rolled down the river and creating a loud, angry rushing sound that raged in Levi’s ears.

“How are we gonna get past this?” Pinkie questioned, raising her voice a little bit to be heard over the river, her voice was no match for the rushing that continued incessantly.

Before Levi or anyone else could make a suggestion, a sound came over the rushing and was heard by the group as they turned their heads towards each other in confusion. The sound was a man wailing, clearly upset by something, coming from down the side of the river. The group all exchanged confused glances before setting their sights on the sound and moving through the bushes and trees swiftly to get to whoever was making the noise.

The wailing got louder and louder with every few steps they took, almost drowning out the merciless rushing of the river, but the rushing was just that much louder than it. The sound of splashing water also filled the air the closer they got, peaking their interest and curiosity as they moved aside the last bush that stood in their way. When they moved the two leaves that blocked there vision from the source of the sound, a quiet yet audible escaped them in surprise at what they saw.

Stretching from one side of the river and almost to the other, was a long, scaly, and purple sea serpent wailing and slamming his tail and lower body into the water again and again. He had flowing gold colored hair that went down beyond the back of his neck and was styled perfectly. He had a mustache where half grew from the left side of his face and looked like a golden piece of seaweed growing from the side of his nose, and the other was the same thing but was cut off near the base.

“What a world! What a word!” The serpent bellowed in anguish as he raised his fists up in the air and pounded the air, sending drops of it sprinkling down onto the group standing on the shore near him.

“What in the..” Levi whispered to himself as his hand instinctively reached to his back pocket and his fingers began to slowly slide inside of it. A lilac hoof suddenly gently grabbed his wrist and pulled it out of his back pocket without breaking her line of sight on the serpent.

“Excuse me sir, why are you crying?” Twilight asked over the rushing and wailing.

“Oh I don’t know,” The serpent moved through the water and towered over the ponies on the shore with his arms raised out to his sides, “I was just sitting here minding my own business when this purple cloud of smoke just whizzed past me and tore half of my beloved mustache off!” He lowered his head down to eye level with the group, showing his torn off mustache in full view.

“NOW I LOOK SIMPLY HORRID!” He cried out as he let out another wail before falling backwards into the water, creating a large wave that crashed down onto the group. Completely soaking them head to toe in water as they looked up at him with annoyance when he raised out of the river.

“Give me a damn break..” Levi said irritatedly, looking down at his sopping wet dress shirt as it stuck to his skin and made it look like it was painted onto him.

“That’s what all this fuss is about?” Applejack asked as she walked forward with the rest of the group closer to the shore, her blonde hair now hanging in front of her eyes like a curtain. Rarity suddenly popped her head out from in between Rainbow and Applejack with her once perfectly styled hair now hanging limply from the sides of her head.

“Why it is! How can you be so sensitive” She held her head up high and marched forward to the head of the lamenting serpent as he laid it on the shore, a gloomy look displayed on his scaly features.

She went up and rubbed her hoof over his chin as she showered the serpent with compliments, praising his hair, his scales, and mirroring his anguish over the torn of mustache that really completes his look. “All of this ruined without your beautiful mustache” “IT’S TRUE! I’m hideous!” He exclaimed loudly almost immediately after, throwing his arms over his face in shame over his ruined image.

“I simply cannot let this stand!” She furrowed her eyebrows and suddenly, without warning, she lunged her head forward and bit down onto one of the scales on his chest and tore it off for no apparent reason.

“OW!” He yelped in pain as he placed his hand over the aching spot where his scale used to be, “Whatever did you do that for!” a tear rolled down his face from the sudden pain he experienced.

She raised the scale up in the air, reflecting the light from the moon as its sharp tip glistened menacingly towards the group. Twilight was somewhat worried as she watched in anticipation as what she was about to do with the scale. “Rarity, what’re you do-” she was interrupted by a slicing sound cutting through the air as she, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash stood there gaping with wide eyes. Her perfectly groomed purple tail fell down to the ground as she dropped the scale along with it, her horn glowing light blue as she levitated her amputated tail in the air.

She moved it over to the base of the serpent's cut off mustache and, somehow, replaced his mustache with her tail. Levi’s eyes widened, wondering how she did that with just the magic from her horn as the serpent raised his head in joy as he saw what Rarity had done. The purple impromptu mustache looked out of place on his face in comparison to the golden other half of the mustache that grew on the opposite side of his nose. Credit where it is due, the tail did match the color of his scales almost perfectly, and still looked a lot better than the stump of hair that sat there before.

“Yes! My mustache!” He let out loudly, his accent shining through with these words. “How wonderful!” He praised with raised eyebrows as he continued to compliment Rarity’s work.

“You look smashing” She complimented with a smile.

“Oh Rarity,” Twilight’s voice cut in as she walked up closer to her, looking at the cut off base of her tail that looked like the ending of a broom, “Your beautiful tail!”

“Oh it’ll be fine my dear!” Rarity replied, turning around to face her and the rest of the group, “Short tails are in this season anyway!”

Levi walked up to the unicorn and took the remnant of her once gorgeous tail in his hand as he looked at it, saying “You did all that for him? You never even met him”

“Oh it’s nothing really darling,” She glanced down at what was left of her tail, “It’ll grow back”

“So will the mustache..” Rainbow muttered under her breath, earning a chuckle from Levi who caressed the cut off tail with his thumb before releasing it. Another loud splash was heard as the rushing of the river died down significantly, allowing the water to become calm once again as it flowed down. The serpent used his long purple body to make a bridge with large humps that ran from the shore all the way to the other side. Levi was the first to walk forward and climb up onto the first hump, using his scales like he was climbing a rock wall.

Levi jumped to the next hump, followed by the group one after another, all the way until the very end of the makeshift bridge. His feet landed onto the light brown dirt as the ponies followed quickly behind him, landing onto the ground with a soft grunt from each of them as he landed. The serpent flipped onto his back and stuck his head and hand out of the water and waved towards the group with a huge smile adorning his face. The ponies waved back and shouted their goodbyes towards the serpent before he dove back under the water, their eyes following him as he swam elegantly down the river to places unknown. Levi watched with his hands in his damp pockets, his mind wandering on what other animals could be lurking in these woods if he found a manticore and a sea serpent both in the same night.

“Let’s go!” He exclaimed enthusiastically, turning around and walking towards the opening between the trees that were directly behind them. The ponies followed closely behind him and Pinkie pranced with a spring in her step as she started to go on and on about the experience they just had. Levi looked over his shoulder at the pony as she began to talk a million miles a minute about the sea serpent, he shot a small smile at her unnoticed as he turned his head forward once more. Finally escaping the swampy atmosphere for good.

The group continued to walk down the path as the moon casted a brilliant silver glow down onto them. The cold night air grew chiller the further they walked down the narrow path, causing the ponies to develop a slight shake from the drop in temperature. The trees slowly turned from the sickly green twisty ones back at the swamp to skinny birch trees that reached high up in the air. The gaps in between the trees revealed a hill that went down into a thick, impenetrable darkness that seemed to stretch indefinitely.

Levi’s teeth chattered as the cold wind relentlessly blew on him as goosebumps formed on his arms. He looked over at Rainbow who was reacting the same way, wrapping her wings around herself in a desperate attempt to keep warm but it did nothing to help her situation. As brittle leaves crunched under their feet as they walked, a sudden sound came from their right that was different from the chattering teeth and leaf crunching they were used to. The sharp sound of a twig snapping was heard over the howling of the wind, causing the group to whip their heads to the right to see the source of the sudden noise.

They stopped dead in their tracks and looked intently at where the sound came from, only being looked intently back by the darkness that accompanied the spot. A bad feeling came over Levi, like he knew something was wrong, and by one quick glance over at Twilight he knew she felt the same. “L-lets keep g-going..” He said with a quivering voice.

His face felt like it was being stabbed by hundreds of icepicks with each step he took. Snot ran from his nose as he sniffled in an effort to clear it but it came right back once again. He wiped his nose with his white t-shirt under his blue shirt and continued walking as the wind continued to howl around him. The more they ventured, the more the wind picked up its pace and the colder the group became. Despite the very unwelcome and harsh conditions, the scenery of the path and the nature around it was stunning. The small white flowers that poked out from the ground and the snow white birch trees made it look like a beautiful painting. Under any other circumstances, Levi would’ve killed to be here.

Despite how pleasing their surroundings looked, it was a far cry to how it actually felt being present there in that moment. The uneasy feeling that swept over them was exemplified when another more alarming sound was heard that once again halted the group. It was a very low and quiet snarling sound but just loud enough to be heard over the small break the wind had from howling. He furrowed his eyebrows into the dark like he was having a silent standoff with what or whoever was behind the sounds. He turned his whole body to face the mysterious creature responsible for the noises as he silently stared daggers at the creature that he didn’t know for sure was there or not.

The ponies looked at Levi like he was deranged as he intently glared into the dark which Levi couldn’t care any less about, the only thing he was focused on was finishing this standoff between him and the creature. Applejack took a few steps towards him before she asked with a shaky voice from the cold, “L-Levi, you okay-”

Crack!

Levi jumped back from the trees as a branch broke loudly behind them, followed by rapid pattering on the ground like a dog chasing after something. A horrified look overcame Levi’s face as he could see his panicked breaths, “We gotta go!” he exclaimed, whipping around to face the group, “NOW!”

The group didn’t hesitate to follow his orders as they followed closely behind him as he dashed forward down the path as fast as his legs could carry him. He heard the beast's loud thumping footsteps running in sync with him as twigs and branches stood no match for whatever was running with him, snapping and cracking with ease under its feet. Hooves pounded the ground. His legs burned. The beast continues to stay in sync with him. In Levi’s mind, he was seemingly out of options, and the only thing he could was hope that there was some miracle waiting to happen that would save their lives. But from the looks of it, that wasn’t happening any time soon.

The animal's thumping steps quickened and gained distance on the distressed and panicked ponies as branches cracked over and over like a clock ticking faster than usual. He kept his eyes trained in front of him, hoping that a blessing would come in some shape or form to rescue them and would just appear in front of them. Seconds later, something did appear in front of them, but was nothing like they were expecting.

Through a gap between the trees, the beast leaped through the air out of the darkness and landed on the path in front of them, causing the group to skid to a sudden halt and kick up dust towards the creature. Its paws slammed on the ground as he stared at Levi and only Levi with its one good eye. The snarling, the growl, the persistence, everything started to come together and the final piece of the puzzle was the snarling and growling animal in front of them. His eyes widened in horror and all the color drained from his face as he knew exactly what it was, a Timberwolf, a very angry Timberwolf.

It’s back went up and down quickly like it was panting and his lime green glowing eye affixed on Levi, staring deep into his green eyes as the wolf watched in satisfaction as a bullet of sweat ran down his forehead. The thing that caught their attention about the animal was his right eye, or what was left of it. His eye was nothing more but a smashed green pumpkin embedded in his eye socket with a disgusting knife wound in the center with dried blood caking the lower half of his eye. It took Levi a bit to realize why the Timberwolf was transfixed on him and him alone, it was the same Timberwolf Levi almost killed back at Fluttershy’s cottage, back to settle the score once and for all.

He was baffled by what he was seeing, refusing to believe this wolf was somehow able to hold grudges and how this beast was able to find him considering how deep into the forest they were. He came to the chilling revelation that he must have been getting stalked through the forest this entire time. The wolf watched him as he almost fell to his death, as he faced off against the manticore, helped the serpent, and now found the perfect opportunity to strike. On a chilly path in the dead of night in the middle of the Everfree, no help for miles except for the ponies behind him who stood no chance against a Timberwolf.

They all slowly backed away from the angry beast as it took a menacing step towards them as Levi pulled his switchblade out from his back pocket, the very same that caused this rivalry in the first place, and the blade shot out of the grip. He licked his lips as a rope of saliva dropped from his mouth that was twisted into a sinister snarl. He knitted his eyebrows together as Levi did the same, fighting through the fear and having only one objective in mind, to kill the wolf and protect his friends. He took deep breaths as he furrowed his eyebrows toward the wolf. Seconds felt like hours as the wind howled, the sound now feeling menacing as the two stood there waiting for one of them to make the first move and commence the battle to the death. Levi dug his foot into the dirt and flipped the blade around in his hand in anticipation as the wolfs glowing eye burned holes into him with its stare.

In an instant, the wolf let out a loud bark as he pounced aggressively towards him, soaring through the air and giving Levi only a few seconds to react. The man jumped out of the way as the wolf's paws slammed against the dirt and whipped his head over to look at Levi with an angry look as the man suddenly stabbed the knife deep into his body. The wolf let out a pained howl that echoed and reverberated through the trees as the knife slid through the cracks in the wood and pierced the wolf’s luminescent green skin. The back of his paw hit Levi like a truck as he flew back, crashing painfully into a tree with fresh green blood covering the silver blade almost completely. The wolf rushed towards the man as he quickly recovered from his daze, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid the wolf’s slash which carved four deep lines into the trunk of the tree.

Levi quickly scurried to his feet and stood with wobbly knees and faced the wolf. Enraged, the Timberwolf leaped at Levi and gave the man zero time to react as he pinned him to the ground with his paws. Memories flashed through his mind as the wolf dug one of his paws into his shoulder and one into his chest, the weight making it extremely difficult to breathe as his paw felt like cinder blocks weighing down on his lungs. Levi used his free hand to push back on the wolf’s lower jaw and shove him away from his neck, feeling his face flush and his chest burn like fire as the wolf barked in his face. Saliva was sprayed onto his face as all he could do was sit there in this compromising position, his knife wielding hand being shoved into the dirt by the furious beast.

Levi’s panicked and now bloodshot eyes darted all around him, desperately trying to find some way shape or form to free himself from this fatal situation. He saw an opening in the trees just inches away from him and saw how the hill below led down into pitch black darkness. He smirked internally as a risky idea popped into his head and, having no other options, followed through with what he planned to do. He tightened his grip on his knife and threw his hand up and grabbed ahold of the nape of the wolf, his fingers slipping underneath one of the wooden shards that formed his body. With all of the remaining strength he had left, he rolled his body over to the gap in the trees, using all of his might to roll the wolf down with him.

The very instant they rolled over, they began tumbling down the hill straight into the darkness below. As the wolf and Levi disappeared into the shadows, Rainbow and Twilight were the first of the group to run over to the gap with worried faces as they heard the commotion going on. Angered barks and screams accompanied by the sounds of a large object hitting the ground and breaking branches and leaves, growing more and more distant they further they traveled down the hill.

“LEVI!” Rainbow’s raspy voice yelled down the hill as the screams and the barks drew further and further away, “LEVI!” Twilight joined in. The remaining ponies stood side by side as they looked down into the darkness, listening to the sounds of their turbulent descent down the hill.

Levi’s head felt like it was being hit with a sledgehammer each time it collided with the ground, his shoulder felt like it was about to snap in two with how hard the wolf was pressing down onto it. His claws dug into his skin and stained his shoulder blades crimson red. The crushing weight of the wolf pressed down on him extremely painfully as the barking continued, coating his face in a thin layer of the animal’s saliva. Somehow, the switchblade never left his hand despite the tumble the two were taking down the hill, and several times Levi attempted to stab the beast as they rolled but to no avail. He heard the raspy yell of Rainbow Dash followed by Twilight’s drown out his screams as they echoed through the forest.

After what felt like hours of the agonizing tumbling and rolling, the wolf and the man finally reached the bottom of the hill, releasing each other as each of them rolled to a stop on the cold hard dirt. The wolf laid on his side in a daze for just a couple of seconds before he shook his head rapidly, standing once again on his two paws as his barking seemed endless. Levi on the other hand laid on his back as it throbbed in pain, coughing fitfully and attempting to catch his breath as the wolf lumbered over and stood above him. He looked down at Levi with an angry yet satisfied look, seeing the reflection of his one good eye in the man’s pained green eyes as his mouth twisted into an evil grin. Drool dropped from the tip of his lower jaw and splattered disgustingly onto his forehead, the man giving no reaction, only staring up helplessly at the beast. The ominous moonlight above created a shadow that loomed over Levi and highlighted its angry features.

The wolf licked his lips eagerly, his heart yearning for the revenge he’s been seeking for days, his heart slammed in his chest in excitement and anticipation. After a brief yet intimidating growl, the beast lunged his head down to Levi’s neck, fully intent on tearing it to bloody pieces once its jaws claimed it. Without thinking, the man threw his arm in front of his face, seemingly forgetting that he was being attacked by a wild animal and not a person. Instinctively, the wolf clamped down onto his forearm with an iron grip as he narrowed his eyes at the man and bit down hard and sank his teeth into his bare flesh. Levi let out a scream of pain into the air as veins threatened to pop in his forehead as he shut his eyes tightly. The wolf angrily spat out the man’s arm back onto the ground as the tips of his pearly white canines were now freshly painted crimson. He growled one last time down at the man before he lunged, only to be met with a white and blue blur flying at him faster than he could comprehend.

SHUNK!

The knife went deep into his head as his jaw went slack and hung down as low as it could go. His eyes went dull and colorless as Levi threw his hand up and pushed on the wolf’s chest as his lifeless body began to come down on top of him. He yanked the knife out of his forehead, causing lime green blood to spurt out from the wound like a broken faucet and splatter onto the unsuspecting man's face. The liquid tasted of pine tar and leaves but the taste didn’t linger for long as he quickly spat the blood out and onto the wooden shards on the wolf’s chest. He angrily shoved the wolf off of him, hitting the ground like a sack of cement as he irritatedly shoved the wolf’s motionless leg off his lap. He splayed his arms out to his side as he tried to catch his breath, relief washing over him as he stared up into the night sky. His back continued to throb and his head felt like it had been spinning for hours as the cold night air cooled the blood sticking to his face.

“WE’RE COMIN’ LEVI!” A country accent bellowed as several pairs of hoofsteps flying down the hill followed. He tiredly rolled his head over to look at the bottom of the hill, a smile growing on his face as he saw the ragtag group of ponies he had just saved run down the hill after him.

The group of seven stood in front of the tall wooden double doors that blocked the entrance to the castle. In matte black rusty metal, two alicorns reared high in the air with their wings flared and their heads pointed towards each other with there horns meeting in the center of the door. The design looked intricately made like a lot of love and passion was poured into it. The years it sat there however weren’t so kind, allowing the rust colored with a brown and white amalgamation of color like the color of vomit to infect it. The wooden door it was stuck to was in better shape than the metal having withstood the test of time after who knows how many years, still standing tall and opposing anyone who stood in front of it.

The group looked at the door nervously as they all exchanged glances, suddenly feeling tense about the face of entering the menacing looking castle. Levi took a close look at the rest of the castle in awe, seeing the coal black bricks that formed the wall and the large holes in them. Towers that looked like they used to scrape the sky now toppled over in a colossal wreck, laying in ruin starkly, immensely different from the tall and imposing form they once had. The grass surrounding them lacked life, every blade wilted and dead and painted the lawn a gloomy brown color as the only thing green were the pesky weeds which poked out from in between the rocks of the path they stood on.

Twilight’s horn glowed brightly as she lit the area around her, walking towards the door with the flashlight embedded in her head and placed her hoof on the door. She pushed as hard as she could as the door refused to even budge, instead squeaking as it scraped along the side of the opposite door. Her light died as she took a hold of the door with her magic, forming a purple ring around the tall door, and pushed with all of her might on the door. A few seconds later, the door finally was thrusted open by the unicorn’s magic as dust rained down from the doorway, creating a sullen grey shower in front of them. She pushed open the other door as another grey shower of dust accumulating for years fell from the doorway once again.

The only thing inside they could see was darkness. Vague outlines of pony shaped armor stands stood against the walls of the room, the moonlight from the outside shining in reflected off the years old armor back into their faces. The moonlight granted their eyes access to see the old moth eaten cherry red carpet that ran from the doorway all the way across the floor into the darkness. A quiet, fearful squeak escaped Fluttershy as she and the rest of the group timidly stepped inside the castle. There hooves made contact with the scratchy old carpet, poking them and causing Rarity to lift her hoof up and look down at the carpet with a disgusted look.

“Oh my!” She proclaimed loudly and dramatically, her voice echoing throughout the seemingly very large room, “This place is filthy!”

Levi grunted in annoyance at the white unicorn's behavior, “Who cares!” he exclaimed back at her, surprising not only the unicorn but the rest of the ponies as well. “We gotta find these Elements and stop Nightmare before it’s too late!”

“Twi,” Her purple eyes went from squinting into the dark to Levi, “Give us some light would ya?”

The unicorn obliged, closing her eyes in concentration as her horn began to glow. The light went from dim and barely noticeable but bursting with gleam as her face scrunched with effort. The entire room was illuminated, their eyes immediately studying every nook and cranny they could see. The cherry red carpet ran from where they stood all the way and up a staircase at the end of the long corridor, covering the old stone steps and into a shadowy hallway atop the small staircase. The railings were chipped and vines crept their way up and covered it almost completely. Vines slithered up the walls and met together in the center of the ceiling above like green thorny snakes.

“Wow..” Levi took a few more steps forward onto the carpet as it crunched underneath his feet with every step like no one stepped foot in there in years. Judging by its appearance, he was probably right. The ponies followed, Rarity begrudgingly walking alongside him on the carpet as her face contorted in disgust, Rainbow Dash hovered above them like her usual self. Twilight felt chills run through her body as her hooves touched the icey cold stone floor, a slight shiver came over her as she walked. Twilight led the group a foot or so in front of them, her horn being the only thing expelling the darkness that crept around every corner.

BAM!

The group jumped in fright as the booming noise echoed through the room and swept their heads around in a panic with wide eyes. To there shock, the tall wooden doors were slammed shut and a blue sparkling aura surrounded the border of the door. The aura glowed through the darkness which more or less covered it, only allowing the outline of the ponies plated to the door to be seen. Levi dashed into the darkness and gripped the freezing cold metal handle and pulled as hard as he could. Not a budge. He pushed as hard as he could. Same result. He rammed his shoulder straight into it and used all of his body weight to push against the door with all of his might. Nothing.

“Fuck!” The sound of his foot colliding with the door echoed off the walls as it rattled from the impact. He let his forehead fall onto the sub zero metal plate of the alicorn as he let out a loud sigh.

“We’re trapped!” Levi exclaimed angrily, resisting the urge to kick the door again in frustration. To make sure, Twilight’s light vanished as she used her magic to pull on the door just like she’d done before, shutting her eyes tight in effort the same way.

“There’s no turning back now” Said the unicorn, “Damn straight” Levi added, lightly pounding the door as he turned around and began his crunchy walk back towards the stairs. “We gotta get this son of a bitch” Levi muttered to himself as the group followed he and Twilight’s lead one step at a time.

Twilight’s horn illuminated the long dark corridor, revealing more pony shaped armor stands and stained glass windows, some broken and some remained intact. The cold wind from the outside howled as it traveled in through the broken window, making the temperature inside even more unbearable. The carpet was a deep purple color but still as crunchy and tattered as its cherry red counterpart. As they walked further and the light brightened every nook and cranny of the hallway, it revealed vines had taken over the once perfectly built brick walls and the banners that hung were now torn and tattered. Some black pots and vases, some broken, some not, stood up against the walls as they passed them. Some were a plain black color and some were a faded white color with some spots showing the original stone grey color of the vase before it was painted.

One of the pots caught Levi’s attention as they moved. On the side of it was a black alicorn with a long horn, very similar to Celestia and Nightmare Moon’s, and was rearing high into the air and kicking her hooves. Some of the paint had faded and chipped away making it look like an ancient artifact you’d see in a museum. Levi brushed his fingers over the oddly smooth golden armor on one of the armor stands as they passed them, relishing the satisfying yet cold, stinging sensation of the smooth armor against his fingertip.

They turned the corner as Twilight’s horn expelled the darkness occupying it, revealing more stained glass windows and armor stands scattered against the walls. A few feet down the hall and on there right was a matte black door. The group’s interest was piqued at the sight and, not having any idea where the elements may be, they decided to check out the room to see what they could find. The group crowded around the door as Levi attempted the doorknob, twisting it and finding resistance, and moved back a few steps to kick down the door like it was second nature. As his back was pressed up against the window behind him and his foot hoisted in the air, Rainbow suddenly zipped in front of the door and landed a heavy buck kick right square in the middle.

The door blew open and straight off its hinges, flying and eventually clattered onto the ground a few feet from the doorway. Levi looked up at the pegasus in surprise and so did everyone else as she folded her wings to her side and landed back on the ground. Noticing all the attention, she flipped her mane back dramatically and said proudly, “You’re welcome”. The group grinned at her as they all filed into the room, light exploding and casting away the dark almost instantly.

Levi began to cough as some of the dust swirling around in the air was inhaled into his lungs, looking around with teary eyes at what was inside of the dark and dank room. Many shelves full of books caked with dust lined the walls as a few paintings were on the floor and leaning against one of the bookshelves. The floor was a deep purple rug and was not as crunchy as the one in the hallway but was still tattered and full of holes from moths.

The group all split up in the room with each of them going off to look at something separately with Levi being drawn to the painting that was flipped over and leaning against the bookshelf like it was calling out to him to reveal what it was hiding. His curiosity only grew as he approached the painting, gently taking it in his hands as he lifted it from where it leaned against the shelf. He stood up fully as he flipped the frame around in his hands, surprise flooded his face almost immediately. In the center of the old yellowed paper held in place by an ancient looking wooden frame was a painting of a stone grey pony with his head pointed at the ground. The pony left only the tip of his muzzle and the lower part of his face visible, with the rest being hidden by the hood of his black cloak which swallowed his skull in its fabric. He was walking on a dark brown dirt path with walls of tall spruce trees on either side of him. In his hand was a cast iron bell he held in the air in front of him as he moved along, the rattle inside looked as if it was stopped in the middle of a swing. A light fog pooled at his hooves and covered the ground around him, barely allowing Levi to see the dirt that he stood on.

As Levi eyed the aged looking painting, he felt an indescribable dread as he looked at it, feeling like the picture held some kind of curse and whoever looked at it was inflicted with it. A concoction of negative emotions brewed in his heart as his eyes took in every detail from the painting. It was hard to describe what Levi was feeling, a sense of impending doom, the threat of danger looming over him, and the sudden cold breeze that wisped right against the nape of his neck. Hairs shot up on the back of his neck which was cold to the touch, he whipped his head around with wide eyes, thinking he could see whoever or whatever had just done that to him. The only thing he saw were the confused eyes of a certain white unicorn, rummaging through an old wooden chest against the wall opposite of him.

“Are you alright darling?” Asked Rarity as she raised an eyebrow.

It took a few seconds for Levi to respond as he was snapped out of the trance he was being sucked into, deep in thought about what had just happened, “Y-Yeah..just a little spooked”

Rarity let out a short laugh before replying, “I don’t blame you at all darling, not one bit,” her horn glowed a fluorescent light blue as she lifted up a broken sword handle from inside of the dust ridden chest, squinting and puckering her lips as she studied the handle, turning it around in all directions like she was analyzing a globe.

After their short interaction, Levi turned his head back around and shifted his attention back to the cloaked pony on the painting, now held with barely shaking hands. He noticed something right under the pony, words painted in a rich black color in between two larger than usual quotation marks. He squinted as he had struggled to read the quote written in a very dramatic cursive, the tip of each letter meeting one another like pumpkins connecting stems, and making the words look like an overall garbled up mess.

‘The stallion dressed in black..the reaper of Equestria..the toller of the bell..he goes by many names. When you hear his bell chime and his fog comes to greet you..your time is up and your debt is paid…’

The sense of something terrible about to happen felt like it was breathing down his neck after he was finished reading, like he had summoned some sort of entity or completed a ritual. Whatever the case, Levi wanted nothing more but to leave the room and act like this “Reaper of Equestria” never even existed. After a deep, heavy breath, the man let the painting drop and clatter to the floor. All of the attention in the room was directed onto him in that moment like a spotlight suddenly shone onto him. He could feel their eyes burning into the back of his head but he couldn’t care less, the only thing he could do was look down at the page laying face down on the rug where it belonged.

“Levi?” Fluttershy’s soft voice cut in through Levi’s thoughts like a sword, gaining the attention of the man. He looked into her soft blue eyes that calmed his worries down like a lullaby to a baby, a very soothing lullaby and a very soothing voice spoke to him after. “What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing..don’t worry about it Flutters..” He lied, his voice lowering down significantly from a regular speaking voice to a low hushed tone. His eyes broke off from Fluttershy’s and back to the picture on the ground, glaring maliciously at it as if it had wronged him in the worst way. In his mind, it did. The sense of doom and dread that followed the moment he laid eyes on the bell wielding pony rested in the back of his mind and refused to leave. ‘What ARE you!’ He thought angrily as his eyebrows furrowed.

“Uhm..Levi-” “I think we should leave” her yellow supportive hoof stopped mid air and returned to the ground at his sudden interruption, her head following closely as she lowered it.

“Agreed,” Twilight chimed, “There’s nothing useful here”

The rest of the group nodded at the unicorn as they all began to file out of the door one by one with Twilight being the last one out, allowing the room to plunge into darkness the moment she wasn’t in there. As Levi walked behind Twilight as she led the group through the castle corridor, he looked back at the sullen and gloomy room that now lacked not even a hint of light or life. Just an empty hollow room filled with nothing but darkness and the awful painting of Equestrias grim reaper. The sense of an impending disaster still followed him as he sauntered through the hall, imposing and looking down upon him like an insignificant creature and felt as if he was burning holes into the back of his head with its stare. Levi didn’t bother to turn around and confront whatever was doing this to him knowing good and well no one was gonna be there. He battled with himself internally on whether or not what he was experiencing was just his mind playing tricks on him or if it’s something that he should be concerned about in the least bit.

Nonetheless, Levi still turned his head halfway around and glared into the darkness that crept behind him with every step they took. As he looked daggers into the abyss of black behind him, he could’ve sworn he saw a figure standing there for a split second. The same black cloak. The same stone grey coat. The same menacing bell held in his hand. Before Levi could even comprehend what he saw, it was gone. He turned his head back around and faced in front of him as he reached under his collar and rubbed the back of his neck, being taken aback by the ice cold feeling on his fingertips and the standing hairs on his nape brushing against them.

Minutes? Hours? The group lost track of time during their monotonous walk around the colossal and dark castle, hoping that eventually they’d turn a corner and be face to face with the Elements of Harmony. However, no matter how much they hoped, the only thing they were met with was the disgusting crunch of the carpet and another corridor to trudge through. They all sounded like they were walking on a pile of dry spaghetti as they walked begrudgingly with the only thing keeping them determined and motivated was the thought of defeating Nightmare Moon and saving Equestria. Levi kept his feet moving despite how sore they were and how much they ached with each step but he knew this had to be done, there was no other way besides this one. He went through too much to turn back now.

A small groan of frustration escaped Rainbow as she hovered above them, rolling her eyes as she did so and complaining “Ugh Twilight! How much longer!”

“I don’t know Rainbow,” she answered with a hint of annoyance hidden in her voice, “The same thing I told you the other five times you asked me”

“I know but still! This is booooring” she replied, drawing out the ‘o’ in boring for dramatic effect.

Levi sighed out of annoyance, the constant walking, his sore feet, and the sound of crunching under him all combined for a hurricane of negative emotions to form inside of him. He glanced over at one of the many broken windows he and the group had passed and stared out into the infinitely large night sky, wishing he could be somewhere else, be free from this. Not have to deal with any prophecies, not have to deal with any evil alicorns, just be somewhere with Alan. Be home. But he knew those days were long gone and this is the way it is now, but he also knew Nightmare Moon wouldn’t last forever. He was gonna make sure of that. He closed his eyes as he walked and took a deep breath before he prayed for some sort of clue or something that would point them in the right direction would just pop out in front of them. Like he was doing for however long they were walking for, he watched forward intently as Twilight’s horn lit up the dark sessions of the hall they were walking in. He kept his eyes peeled for anything he could see in the newly lit up area. But, just like every other time he did it, he never saw anything of interest or anything at all for that matter. That was until Twilight’s light expelled the darkness at the very end of the corridor they were walking through and his heart almost jumped out of his chest at what he saw. A velvety red carpet running up a small set of stone stairs and, unlike the others they saw, the carpet looked relatively well. Not a complete mess full of holes like the rugs they’ve seen previously.

While overjoyed that he found something that’s not just another unwanted dark and gloomy hall, he felt an odd sense of suspicion the more he looked at it. The devil red rug with inky black edges made Levi feel like it was too good to be true. Given how decrepit the carpets they found were that have seemingly been there for years, maybe decades, it was incredibly out of the ordinary for this almost perfect mat to be there. To add to the apprehensive feeling boiling inside of Levi, the rails of the stone steps were perfect. There wasn’t a single blemish or sign of wearing down on them, it was almost like they were built just minutes before they arrived. His joy was quickly overcome by these feelings of doubt and to top it all off, sitting atop the stairs was a maroon door, but not a regular door you’d see in a castle but a door you’d see at the front of someone's house.

He knew clear as day that something wasn’t right with this sudden miracle that jumped out in front of them but judging by the relieved smiles on the other ponies faces, they were not feeling the same way.

“Finally!” Rainbow’s raspy voice exclaimed, happy they finally found something that wasn’t just another long and dark passageway. Levi on the other hand was the complete opposite, feeling more and more anxious by the second with the sense of impending doom still lingering over him not making it any better. Twilight grinned as she led the rest of the ponies to the stairs, their footsteps going from the unpleasant crunching sound to a more comfortable sound of walking on the soft rug.

Begrudgingly, Levi followed the ponies and lagged behind as he traveled up the steps encompassed by the carpet. His suspicions were cemented even further as his foot made contact with the pulpous rug under him. It felt like he was walking on a cloud unlike any carpet he had ever seen before. It didn’t even feel real for the man, it made him feel he was in some sort of dream and that this carpet was just a part of it. He glanced over at the rail and placed his hand on, running it up and down and relishing in the flawless smoothness like he was rubbing a slab of marble. He noticed the stone reflecting the moonlight shining through one of the cracks in the tall windows not that far from it like a mirror. As he looked down at the fragment of the step not covered by the unrealistic feeling rug, he noticed the same thing happen with it, the moonlight reflecting off and back into his uneasy green eyes. Not only was the light being reflected, he could see himself in the wedge of the step as well, noticing how unkempt and terrible he looked.

His hair was a matted and sweaty mess. The second button below his top button was ripped, revealing more of his white t-shirt stained lime green from the blood of the ravenous wolf. His once perfect looking sleeve roll now looked like a clutter of royal blue wrinkles. His face had a dry streak of blood on it that crossed the bridge of his nose and the upper left of his forehead. His jeans were covered in large patches of dirt and a single leaf stuck to his thigh, immediately sweeping it away the second he saw it. He felt slightly ashamed at his appearance, usually he liked to keep himself looking presentable at all times. Nowhere near this.

He shifted his eyes from his disheveled appearance on the stair to the group standing atop the staircase. He met them there and he saw Twilight using her magic to open the door but failing despite how much effort she put into it. He looked over at Rainbow and could see in her eyes how eager she was to blow down the door like there was no tomorrow, waiting for the signal from Twilight for Rainbow to go all in at the wooden entrance.

She twisted the golden doorknob back and forth and back and forth and pushed it again and again. She tried pulling it as hard as she could. Nothing. The door wouldn’t budge. Levi excused his way through the group that was formed around them and took a crack at the door. Twisting it yielded nothing. Pushing it. Pulling it. Nothing. Twilight looked over at the eager pegasus and sensed what the goofy grin on her face was suggesting.

Twilight sighed before she said “Go ahead Rainbow”

Her grin grew wider as she began to hover in the air and floated over to the door, turning around and positioning her back legs to send the door to kingdom come. She cocked them back and sent them hard into the center of the wood.

BAM!

The door gave in immediately and flew open from the rainbow haired ponies kick, hitting the stone wall beside it loudly as the doorknob struck it from the swing. To add to Levi’s uneasiness, no grey shower of dust rained down from the doorway like the door they had broken into just minutes before. And weirdly enough, the pegasus’ kick didn’t break it off its hinges, not even leaving a mark or a scratch at the impact zone. The thick dusk inside the long and wide corridor seemed to stare back at Levi as he gazed into it, burning holes into his retinas with its menacing look. The moonlight from the perfectly intact windows inside the hall glowed into the room, casting a brilliant white silvery glow into the otherwise completely lightless room. The moonlight allowed the man to see another similarly colored maroon door at the very end of the passageway and a large doorway in the right wall.

Levi decided before any of them could go in there that he should voice his concerns about the door, hoping some of them would listen and understand. “I don’t have a good feeling about this” the sudden entry of his voice into the usually quiet atmosphere gained their attention.

“Why not?” Twilight questioned.

“I mean look at it,” he motioned his soiled hand to the newly opened door “This isn’t a door you’d see in a castle. This is something at somebody’s house, something’s wrong here..I can feel it”

Twilight gave him an understanding look before she replied “I agree, but look around Levi, what choice do we have?”

Taking her words into consideration, he looked around at the area they all stood in. The old, jet black walls claimed by vines that mocked them, the chipped stained glass that allowed some light into the gloomy castle, and the stomach-turning carpet. The one thing he couldn’t find was a choice, the one they didn’t have, the only choice they had was the one standing in front of them.

“You're right,” Levi responded with a sigh, rubbing his eyes with his index and thumb. “You wanna go first then Twi?”

The lilac unicorn gave him a small nod as her horn continued to emit the bright light like a star protruding from her forehead. Rainbow however decided to lead the walk into the hall before her to let her confidence shine. The ponies formed a single file line that ran down the stairs with Levi standing begrudgingly at the bottom step, fearing the worst for what could happen inside but knowing that they had no other option. Nightmare Moon had to be stopped and fast. He heard the faint sound of Rainbow’s hooves landing softly on the rug as she descended from the air. Her soft trotting became more audible as her hooves moved from the soft carpet to the cold stone floor of the corridor. Twilight followed closely behind her and just as she was millimeters away from stepping inside, she was abruptly met face to face with the door.

BAM!

The maroon door slammed shut right in her face. The sound boomed through the long and empty hall behind them as they all jumped in surprise and fright. All of his suspicions were confirmed as his heart sank to the pit of his stomach as it filled with worry. He moved away from the line and dashed up the stairs three at a time and practically slammed his body against the maroon wood. He whipped his head down and grabbed the doorknob aggressively and twisted and turned like his life depended on it, realistically, Rainbow’s life most likely did. When that didn’t work, he pushed the door with all of his might and pulled it the same way as beads of sweat began to form on his brow.

“FUCK!” he yelled as he punched the door. Small maroon colored wooden shards flew from the impact zone and landed next to his feet. Levi looked like he had lost his mind from the ponies point of view with Twilight jumping again at the sound of his fist crashing into the wood. One pony however wasn’t caught off guard by the man's behavior, instead, choosing to take action and stop him before he hurt himself any more.

Levi felt something bite down on the back of his waistband, putting deep teeth marks on his belt and yanking him back. The seemingly strong pony sent Levi flying backwards and slamming back first on the stone railing that lined the right and left side of them. His nape struck the dull edge of the top of the rails and, despite how blunt it was, it still sent lightning bolts of pain down his spine. He let out a loud yelp as he threw his hand to the back of his neck, letting a small groan of pain escape him afterwards.

“Woah Nelly!” He heard a strong country accent speak, a very familiar country accent. He looked up and was met with a pair of emerald eyes looking down on him with a concerned look.

“What has gotten into ya Levi? What’s the matter?” She asked, the sound of Twilight using her magic to push and pull on the door serving as background noise for her words.

“Rainbow’s in trouble!” He exclaimed in a panic, “We gotta help her! We gotta get in there!”

He put his hand on the shiny stone under him and pushed himself up off the ground, immediately regretting his choice the second his rear left the floor. Just like how it felt when his back hit that building days prior, his back stung like a thousand hornets as he made an effort to stand. He sucked in a large gulp of air and his jaw clenched as he let himself fall back to the ground. Levi looked behind the blonde pony and watched anxiously as Twilight and Rarity both struggled to open the door, their grunts and moans of effort filled his ears. He let his head fall back and hit the top of the stone railing. His mind swirled like a tornado of what could happen to Dash inside of that corridor. What could Nightmare Moon have in store for the pegasus? Levi couldn’t stand thinking about it. Nightmare’s distinct and chilling cackle echoed in the back of his mind like a bad memory and the image of the unicorn plastered onto the moon was burned into his memory.

‘Please…let her be okay…’

Comments

[KenBilly34]

That is awesome