> Tales from the Equestrian Others- The Fallen Angel of Ponyville
>  by Scarlet Raven Thorn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Dawn in Ponyville (1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a lovely morning in Ponyville. At least, as lovely as a morning could get in a town literally at the border of one of Equestria's most dangerous magical places. The odd hydra or cranky Ursa Minor was nothing odd for the little town. Still, the morning was oddly calm. Especially for a certain silver-maned pegasus.
"Mooooooom!" A small white pegasus colt with a red and black mane scrambled down the cloud stairs of their home, almost in a state of panic.
Scarlet Thorn carefully poured a bowl of pancake batter on to the griddle, before releasing the handle from in between her teeth. The mare turned to her young son with a patient but firm, "What are you missing this time Black Dawn?"
The blue-hoofed colt, Black Dawn, wailed, "I can't find my gamecolt anywhere! I checked my desk, my nightstand, and underneath my bed! But I can't find it anywhere!"
"Oh, is that what you're looking for?" A new voice piped.
"Ooh, ooh! Have you seen it dad?" Black Dawn asked hopefully, trotting over to the older gold-maned pegasus.
"You better tell him Cobra, or we won't hear the end of it." Scarlet stated, flipping over the pancake.
"Of course I know where it is." Cobra Strike stretched out a grayish-white feather coated wing. "I took it."
The little colt's jaw dropped. "Wh- what? Why?"
Cobra Strike sighed. He put down the paper he had been reading, and adjusted his glasses. "Dawn, when's the last time you went out and played with your friends? Outside of school, I mean."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Black Dawn wailed.
"Now your father has a point my sunshine." Scarlet interrupted, dumping the pancake out of the griddle and onto a stack of its fellows. She walked over to the table and set the platter down. "I can't remember the last time you had your friends over."
"But what about the mares that have gone missing?" Black Dawn inquired, pointing out the headline on the front page of the newspaper. "It's not safe out in Ponyville anymore."
"Well that's why you need your friends more than ever, safety in numbers." Scarlet piped.
"What about those Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Cobra asked. "They seem fun."
Black Dawn groaned. "Not those three! The Crusaders are so annoying! Ever since they first saw me they wouldn't stop asking about my cutiemark!"
To emphasize his point he pointed an accusing hoof at the cutiemark in question. It was an orange sun, almost like a sunset, with a black gem in front of it. Six shadowy tendrils grew from the gem and seemingly enveloped the sun. It definitely was an unusual cutiemark, and neither Black Dawn nor his parents really had any idea what it meant. 
Most fillies and colts earned their cutiemarks when delving into a talent, but for this particular colt it had appeared seemingly at random one day when they had visited Canterlot to watch Princess Luna signify the Winter Solstice by raising the moon. The moment Princess Celestia had lowered the sun, Black Dawn's cutiemark had appeared.
"Well," Cobra began, struggling to think of something to say. "cutiemarks are a rather complicated matter. They're more than just an image on a pony's flank. They're-"
"I know, I know!" Dawn interrupted, and rolled his eyes. "They represent not just the talent and livelihood of the pony, but essentially the very essence that makes the pony. And the reason Equestria has a better economic system and is more friendly in general than any other country is because of how our cutiemarks help us to follow the correct path that benefits not just us but everypony. To put it simply, our cutiemark is our destiny."
Cobra Strike raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed that his son had memorized his speech. "Have we really given you this speech so much?"
Black Dawn nodded his head exasperatedly. "Only like, every other day. Besides it's easy for you to say. At least you know what your talent is!"
There was no denying the little colt's claims. Cobra Strike had to have one of the more blunt cutiemarks in Equestria. It was the silhouette of an acoustic guitar and the king's chess piece, signifying the stallion's natural talent for strategy in chess and his profession as a rock star.
"Well what about your mother's cutiemark? It's definitely not your average run of the mill types." Cobra pointed out.
"Now, now." Scarlet Thorn rose from her chair. "I wouldn't say my cutiemark is anything special. It just doesn't represent my talent in a way that all ponies can understand."
The cutiemark on the mare's flank was a simple skull. It appeared to look very skeptical of the world around it. In reality, it represented his mother's ability to see through the farce emotions of other ponies and creatures. Naturally, Scarlet was exceptionally attentive to the wants and needs of others. However, it also represented the mare's ability to shrug off any spiteful or just plain rude comments.
Cobra Strike chuckled. "I remember when you used to think your mother was a pirate. You were so disappointed to find out otherwise."
"Point being," Scarlet interjected. "is that you shouldn't worry about what your cutiemark means. It'll come in due time. For now eat your breakfast, and why don't you go play with your friends afterwards? What about Audio Crash? I thought he was your best friend."
"Okay, I'll go over to his house then. Could I have my gamecolt back so Audio and I can play Pokémare together?" Black Dawn asked through a mouthful of pancakes. 
"No. You can have it back next weekend. And you should give those three fillies a chance." Cobra mentioned. "They don't seem too bad. And who knows? They might just help you figure out what your special talent is."
If their son had heard him, he gave no indication. Scarlet Thorn simply smiled and stared to nibble on her own breakfast. As soon as the kitchen was cleaned up she had a list of chores to sift through. And nothing was going to get in her way.

...

The kitchen was a complete disorderly mess, currently Discord's realm had to be in a more organized state. Unused pancake batter flowed down the counter like a viscous waterfall, creating an ever-growing pool of stickiness. All sorts of cooking utensils had been left out, and somehow had ended up scattered across the counters. Even the ingredients had yet to be put away, and the stove had been left on. Scarlet Thorn sighed and walked over to the stove dial, which she turned to off.
Cobra Strike, hearing his special somepony's cry of vexation, decided to offer his assistance. "Would you like some help?"
"No, it's alright." The smaller pegasus assured. "Although, I will never understand how I manage to get batter on the ceiling every single time."
As if to emphasize her point some batter dripped down from the ceiling and landed on Cobra's muzzle.
"Better not to question it, we live in a town of enigmas after all. Heck, we have a breathing example of one living a few blocks down!" Cobra shuddered, thinking of the first time he had met the excitable pony named Pinkie Pie.
"I suppose you're right." Scarlet agreed, dumping some eggshells into the compost bin. "Why don't you head over to Looking Glass's for band practice? I'm sure everypony else has already set up."
"Alright then." He gave her a quick kiss. "You know where to find me if things get awry." 
As Cobra Strike walked out of the kitchen, Black Dawn galloped in. "Okay mom, I'm leaving to Audio Crash's now."
"Have fun, and remember the curfew!" Scarlet called out to her son, who by now was already out the door.
"I will!" Black Dawn called out, followed by the slamming of their front door.
The poor mare couldn't help but to worry. In the past week alone three ponies had gone missing. Although all three had been young unicorn mares, it was still a rising concern for Ponyville's citizens. Overall, it did not sit well in the pegasus's stomach. She had a bad feeling about the situation, and her gut feelings had never been wrong before. For now Scarlet pushed those negative thoughts aside, and focused on the task ahead of her. The mare grabbed her chosen tools of war, a rag and a spray-bottle of cleaner, and headed into the battlefield.
> Guardian Angel of a Fallen Angel (2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A grey pegasus mare flew lazily yet fairly fast through the sky, a mailbag at her side. It was a lovely day to fly through the skies of Equestria. The sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful shade of blue, the clouds hovered beautifully, and a blur shot towards the mare. It was all very picturesque.
"Wait? Blur?" The wall-eyed mailmare asked herself.
Said blur suddenly smacked into the mare, sending her cartwheeling across the sky. She hugged her mailbag tightly against her chest.
"Sorry!" The blur called back, already fading out of sight.
The mailmare managed to correct her flight path with a few struggled flaps. She then pointed out her mailbag and yelled after the blur, "Please be more careful! These letters are for the citizens of Ponyville and it's imperative that they all get delivered! And they will, or my name isn't Derpy Muffins Ditzy-Doo!"
There was no response from the blur, so Derpy simply shrugged her shoulders and happily continued along her mail route while humming to herself.

***

Scarlet Thorn carefully shifted the flowerpot over, and wiped the offending dirt it had left behind off of her pristine counter. She then smiled at the pretty flower growing from the pot, although she wasn't quite sure what type of flower it was exactly. 
"Well whatever the case, I sure am happy Lily Valley and Daisy recommended you to me. Such a lovely flower." The mare said with a smile.
The orange angular petaled flower seemed to perk up at the comment as the green-eyed pegasus watered it.
Around the flowerpot, the kitchen had been restored to its former glory. All the food was put away, the trash picked up, the dishes drying in the rack, and the counters wiped down. Scarlet was rather proud of her ability to clean so thoroughly and quickly. But of course, there was still the ceiling. Luckily for the mare the partially hardened batter was only above the area she had been mixing. Unluckily for the mare she couldn't reach.
For a pegasus, this shouldn't have been a problem. But for a pegasus like Scarlet, it was a dreadful reminder of what she could never achieve. Scarlet Thorn had been born with a rare wing disorder known as angel wing. She would never fly. Her condition was rare, but not unheard of. In fact she was sure that she had seen a little filly in Ponyville with the same condition. And it wasn't limited to just pegasi either. She had once read that sometimes a unicorn is born with an abnormally small horn that would render them magic-less for the rest of their lives. Not that it mattered terribly much to the pegasus mare, as she had long since grown accustomed to living a flightless life. More so she was just glad that it hadn't been passed down to her son.
A sudden frantic knocking caused Scarlet to jump into the air, and then slip on her freshly mopped floor. The mare brought herself onto shaky hooves. "Just a moment please!"
She scurried over to the front door and opened it, and was immediately thrown onto the ground. The black and white dragoness atop her suddenly grabbed her by her brooch and shook her violently.
"Scaaaaaaarlet Thoooooooorn!" The reptile wailed, practically hyperventilating.
"Soooound-Ooooff, whaaat's goooiiing ooon?" Scarlet managed to get out through the shaking.
The little dragoness, Sound-Off, pulled out a scroll from behind her wings. Although it had been broken, Scarlet recognized the royal lunar seal. "This! This is what's wrong!"
Scarlet quickly snatched the letter from the dragoness and swiftly glided through its contents. Her eyes widened with alarm, and she grabbed Sound-Off's arm. "We can't talk here."
"Where are we going then?" Sound-Off inquired.
"Some place nopony can overhear or eavesdrop." The pegasus answered, leading the reptile into a rather large but otherwise empty room.
"Oh no." Sound-Off moaned. "Not there. Anywhere but there!"
Scarlet nodded her head, and pulled what appeared to be a silver dog-whistle out from underneath her shawl. "It's the safest place."
The white mare brought the whistle to her lips and filled her lungs with so much air that it hurt before releasing it all into the whistle. The air was absolutely silent for a few minutes and then there was a sudden tearing sound, as if the flesh of the universe itself was being ripped apart. This was followed by a loud thud as something big and heavy dropped to the ground behind them. The hot air on the back of Sound-Off's neck chilled the dragoness from scale to bone. And she slowly turned around.
There was not a lot that could pose a threat to a dragon, let alone scare one. For the most part it was only other dragons. But there was one creature that among dragons was greatly feared. In fact, any living creature in all of Equis would  have to be just plain stupid not to be afraid of it. And unfortunately, one such monster just so happened to have landed right in that very room. One very much alive and very much real, Tartarus Chiroptera. 
They were essentially ginormous bats that could outrival a Bugbear in size. With long horns, spikes, tusks, saber teeth, and claws; not to mention an almost chitinous and starved-looking ebony body. However it wasn't its size or protrusions that the Tartarus Chiroptera was known for, but rather the long tail that ended in a deadly looking ax and a complete immunity to magic. They were nicknamed the executioners of Tartarus for a reason after all, and not even an alicorn-magic absorbed Tirek would fancy meeting one. The Tartarus Chiroptera suddenly lunged forward with a speed that would put Rainbow Dash to shame, straight onto Scarlet Thorn. And then proceeded to lick her cheek with a giant wormy tongue, followed by a loving nuzzle.
"Slasher! Slasher quit that!" Scarlet scolded, wiping the slimy black saliva of her trusted friend off of her otherwise snow-white coat. "I missed you too already, jeez."
Sound-Off could only watch in an odd mixture of fascination, awe, and total fear. Of course it was far from the first time she had met Scarlet's- for the lack of a better term- pet, and it definitely wouldn't be her last. Still, it was something she seriously doubted that she could ever get used to. So it came as no surprise when she began to babble out, "Tar- Tar- Tar- Tartarus Chiro- Chiro-"
Scarlet stopped her with a gentle hoof before she could make a fool of herself, and the dragoness realized that she had been shaking. "Relax Sound-Off. It's just Slasher. You've known him for years. He knows that you're his friend."
The Tartarus Chiroptera turned to the much smaller reptile and growled. The growl, which could hardly qualify as a growl, was deep and gravelly. A series of clicking followed the end of it; it was definitely not something that belonged to this world.
"Well, he at least knows you're not food." Scarlet unhelpfully admitted, climbing onto the custom made saddle already attached to the monster's back. "If what I read was true, then we're almost out of time. Let's go."
When the dragoness failed to so much as blink, the mare leaned over and seized her scaly friend again by the arm. Before Sound-Off was even in the saddle Slasher had shot off upwards towards the high ceiling, and just when it looked like they were about to hit it there was the sound of the universe being torn apart again and the dragoness and pegasus mare were gone.
> Catch-22 (3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarlet Thorn was trotting through the Everfree forest, which most ponies would have thought her an imbecile for. However unlike the insane ponies who did traverse the forest, the pegasus was doing so at night. Even those insane ponies had to be less mad than she was. Not that she wanted to be in town at the moment anyways. It was the night of the Summer Sun Celebration; of course everypony had been absolutely frantic about making sure every last little thing was perfect for not just the arrival of their beloved Princess Celestia but a supervisor that also happened to be the Princess's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony.
"Try saying that five times fast." Scarlet muttered aloud. "Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal protegee, a prestigious purple pony. Princesses's personal prote-"
The pegasus was interrupted by a very loud roar, and she quickly dove into an unfortunately prickly bush. Despite her rapidly growing discomfort, this was the reason the pony had marched straight into the depths of the Everfree for. Once only every thousand years the legendary and gruesome Tartarus Chiroptera made its migration from the bowels of Tartarus to an unknown destination, presumably for mating reasons. Of course, that was all just speculation. Nopony but Celestia herself was old enough to be sure, and not even Celestia herself had ever gotten close enough- nor was brave enough- to have ever learned about one. That was why Scarlet Thorn was approximately ten miles deep into the Everfree. With Ponyville being so close to the entrance to Tartarus, she figured that she might as well see if the rumors are true. And to her great delight, and slight horror, they were.
High above the pegasus could make out a colony of dragon-like silhouettes. If she hadn't known better, she might've actually thought they were dragons. But the mare knew better. Not only was it not the correct time of the year for the Great Dragon Migration, but the cries coming from above were not dragon roars. These roars were too screechy, like gryphon nails sliding down a blackboard combined with the pounding of a jackhammer.
One of the silhouettes suddenly dived downward with alarming speed. It swooped right past Scarlet, its wing tip literally less than an inch away from her muzzle as her bush was nearly ripped from the soil. The unlucky trees in its path were thrown to the ground as the monster snatched up a manticore that had been hiding in another bush. The smaller beast roared in agony at the fangs sunk into its hide but before it even had a chance to fight back the Tartarus Chiroptera bit deeper into the manticore's flesh, effectively either paralyzing it or killing it. The still hidden pony couldn't tell which, not that she really wanted to find out. Secretly, a small part of her was actually grateful to the Tartarus Chiroptera. She wasn't sure what that manticore could've and would've done had she been careless enough. Better it than her anyways.
Finally, little over three excruciating hours later, Scarlet Thorn slowly crept out of the bush. Half an hour of the wait alone had been her waiting to make sure that there were no more Tartarus Chiroptera to be seen. Every joint she possibly had was incredibly and unbelievably stiff, making it almost impossible to stand. Her neck hurt from looking up at the sky for so long. And to make things all the worse she had brambles in her coat, tail, and mane. She was going to need a long shower after this, and tomorrow was going to be one heck of a laundry day unless she decided to buy a new cloak. The pegasus attempted to shake as many as the brambles as possible off, but the thorns stubbornly persisted. She then straightened out each of her legs individually, and stretched out in a cat-like movement to crack her back. The pony started her trek out of the Everfree when her ears picked up the smallest and strangest of noises.
It sounded almost like the cry of a baby animal, but the sound was so slight that Scarlet wasn't sure if she had heard it in the first place. That is, until she heard it again. It seemed to be coming from the direction where the manticore had been snatched up. At first she thought that it could have been a manticore cub, but the chances of that were highly unlikely as the cubs were raised primarily by their mothers. Still, it couldn't hurt to check. Pony, manticore, or otherwise, if there was a creature in trouble Scarlet felt obligated to help. She cautiously approached the sound with little regard to her own safety. It took her a moment to pinpoint the exact location that the cries were coming from, as they had become few and far in between, but eventually she found the source of the noise almost pinned underneath the branches of a fallen tree. And it was not a manticore.
The little bat was no bigger than the average foal, and it looked quite frightened. It was pure white in color, save the blood coating its wing where a branch had pierced through. The peculiar thing about this bat's wings, was that they were feather-coated which was unlike any bat that the pony had seen before. Not that looks mattered right now. There was an injured and scared creature in front of her, a baby one at that, and Scarlet Thorn was determined to do something about it. She knew that she was no Fluttershy when it came to animals but while the butter-yellow mare's talent lay in the treatment and care of animals, Scarlet's was in helping sort out the emotions of others which included being able to help them calm down and think clearly.
She gingerly crouched down, making herself as small and nonthreatening as possible. When she spoke, she was sure to do so in a quiet and soothing tone. "Hello."
The little bat turned to her, absolutely terrified. It tried to get away, but only succeeded in digging the branch deeper into its wing.
"Wait, wait, wait!" The mare quietly ordered. "Please don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. Look, I have wings just like you!"
She flexed out her wings, showing them to the little bat in hopes of gaining its trust. Her action proved to be the right choice, as the strange bat stopped struggling and cautiously stepped toward her.
"My name is Scarlet Thorn, and I want to help you." She pointed at the punctured wing. "I know you must be scared right now, but I promise that I won't hurt you. And I'll tell you a secret. I'm scared too. I'm scared because I'm all alone in the Everfree. But, maybe we can be scared together and neither of us have to be alone?"
The odd creature looked up at her and stopped moving all together, it seemed to Scarlet that it agreed with her.
"Okay, don't worry. I promise that everything is going to be okay. I have a unicorn friend who has the best healing magic in all of Ponyville, and he'll have your wings fixed up in a jiffy." Scarlet assured, firmly yet gently scooping the little bat into her foreleg. 
With her other hoof she grasped a hold of the damaged wing and attempted to dislodge the sharp branch that had penetrated through it. To her surprise it easily slid out from the wound, but she was quick to realize that this was only because of the branch being slick with blood. To her great alarm more of the little bat's life was now openly flowing through the wound. Scarlet mentally cursed herself. She had forgotten that by removing the offending object that there would be nothing left to stop the blood flow. The pegasus made a quick but smart decision, and ripped off a good section of her purple shawl as her cloak was covered in nasty brambles that would no doubt do more harm than good. The fabric definitely was not the thickest, but wrapped around the bat's wing and around itself enough times would make it as good as gauze. Once she had finished the mare moved the little bat to her chest where she figured it was warmest. It stopped trembling and cuddled its face into her soft neck fur so she figured that she must be doing something right. 
Making sure to keep pressure on the makeshift bandage, Scarlet Thorn began on the path back to Ponyville. "Don't worry. I'll keep you safe."

(***)

"And that's how I met Slasher." Scarlet recounted to Sound-Off.
The dragoness stared at her slack-jawed, and then rapidly shook her head. "You are one crazy pony, you know that? Taking a creature from the Everfree forest! Remember the parasprite incident, hmm?"
"Well that was almost two weeks after I found Slasher. Besides, they weren't that bad." The pegasus argued.
"Not that bad? Maybe for those like you who are lucky enough to live in cloud homes!" Sound-Off snapped. "For those of us who live on the ground it was awful! They ate everything! And when I say everything, I mean everything! Do you even know why Cold Front's cottage went up for sale right after Pinkie Pie led the parasprites away, and why nopony has seen nor hide nor tail of her since?"
"Has listening to all that loud music made you daft? Parasprites eating ponies," Scarlet scoffed. "that's just ridiculous!"
Sound-Off shrugged her shoulders. "You can choose to believe whatever you want, but if you ask me it's all a little bit too coincidental."
"What's coincidental is the timing of it all." Scarlet stated, "According to what we know, ever since Twilight Sparkle and her friends brought back Princess Luna it seems the foundations of Equestria have begun to crumble. The entire Discord fiasco and the reemergence of the changeling race for starters, even minor inconveniences like the parasite pandemic."
"I'm still telling you, that was a lot worse than you make it out to be." Sound-Off grumbled. "But I do agree with you. In fact, that's not at all dissimilar to what Luna told me when I first became a member of  Z.O.D.I.A.C."

(***)

	Sound-Off rode atop Princess Luna's regal back as she trot along the bloodied halls of Canterlot Castle. The sight of the dragoness atop the alicorn's back was not abnormal behavior for the lunar princess, the young dragoness was practically her granddaughter after all. More so, Luna's concern fell upon protecting the reptile.
For as of today, the changelings had returned to Equestria. At least, the oldest and most powerful hive had. Queen Chrysalis had somehow managed to infiltrate the defenses set-up for the wedding of Princess Cadenza Mi Amore and Shining Armor. And what's more, taken the place of the bride-to-be and locked her underneath the castle in the crystal catacombs for Faust only knows how long.
Princess Luna had returned from her quest for the perfect wedding gift, only to find her beloved home under siege by love-devouring, soul-sucking, bad-tempered, black-chitined, and rather foul-mouthed insect-like equines known as the changelings. A horrifying swarm of countless anonymous faces, capable of shifting forms into any creature or any object. She had fought her way through a good-sized chunk of the swarm, leaving piles of corpses in her wake. But before she could reach the room hosting the wedding ceremony, a pulse of powerful magic had blown hopefully each and every changeling clear out of Equestria. And while her personal protegee and adopted son scoped out the damage done unto the city, its civilians, and the guards-ponies under his control, she had taken to guarding over Sound-Off in the meantime.
Atop her back, the little dragoness shivered as they passed the corpse of one of Celestia's Solar Guard. The alicorn heard Sound-Off cry out in fear and alarm. The majestic pony soon picked up the pace to a strong canter, still maintaining her royal grace and poise as she did so. They soon reached the Lunar Wing of the castle, which was less damaged than the Solar Wing which was often more frequented by guests and where all of the parties and other events were hosted. As they turned the corner and she threw open the heavy wooden double-doors, she was relieved to find that her personal library was miraculously, and thankfully, untouched. Luna quickly trot over to the fireplace, and ignited a magical flame within using a spark of indigo-blue magic. She then floated over a large woolen blanket with her magic, and unfolded it so that it lay atop the dragoness's shoulders and partially over the alicorn's own back of which Sound-Off was no longer atop of.
"Are you alright?" Luna finally asked, worried not for the dragoness's physical state- which was free from any damage- but rather for the state of her mental health.
Sound-Off pressed herself deeply into the alicorn's soft side. The princess's warmth flowed into her body, soothing her almost into the lull of sleep. In that honest state, she admitted, "I'm scared."
Luna frowned. Sound-Off was young- of age two years in pony time but twelve in dragon- but her heightened awareness and incredible intelligence easily put her at the age only experienced scholars averaged to be. Still, she was young and the horrors and consequences of war had put her into a state of shock.
"It is perfectly okay to be scared." Luna simply stated. "Especially in a situation such as this. Fear is good, because fear kept you alive during the changeling's assault. Trust your fear Sound-Off."
At the mention of the changelings Sound-Off shrunk into the blanket. "I don't understand! They came from nowhere, but everywhere at the same time! Then they started killing ponies!"
"That is war little one. There are no winning sides, no benefits, no rewards. Only bloodshed met by slaughter." The alicorn harshly said.
"But then, why? What was the point?" Sound-Off squeaked, almost fully burying herself into the somewhat scratchy fabric.
"There is no point." Luna claimed. "You could argue that it was over natural resources, such as land or food, but such needs could have been met by a simple treaty. The only point of war, is to thin out the population. Sound-Off, tell me, what do you know about the Law of Equivalent Exchange?"
The little dragoness nervously gulped. "Um, uh, the Law of Equivalent Exchange is essentially the explain- explanation for all magic, innate and learned. Something cannot be taken without first giving something of equal or greater value. And that rule applies when in reverse too. Before something can be given, something else has to be lost. It's the basic principle of magic."
"That is correct." The lunar princess nodded her head. "But, can you tell me young dragon, how this law affects Equestria as a whole?"
"I know that in exchange for flight magic, the pegasi have to maintain the weather. Earth ponies are more in tune with nature because after the disappearance of the lost civilization of Ponyland they declined the rights to horns or wings, in order to keep harmony within their lands. And unicorns get their magic from drawing in their surrounding's energies, which if used incorrectly or too frequently can drain the life of the land around them." Sound-Off answered.
"While that is true, that is not the answer I am looking for." Came Princess Luna's response, as she levitated over a large tome in her magical aura. "Indeed, Equestria's natural magic does rely on its inhabitants, including my sister's and my own, but as a whole there is something else that our nation must incorporate. And that is the magic of both harmony, and chaos."
"Chaos magic? Like Discord?" Sound-Off asked, clearly confused. "But Equestria is the land of harmony, why would it need chaos magic?"
The alicorn's ears folded back, and her eyes filled with shame. "Because, Equestria is trying to restore balance to itself. And it's all my fault."
"What?! That's not true Luna!" The reptile exclaimed. "If anything, harmony has been greater than ever since your return!"
"You fail to understand. When I- I mean, Nightmare Moon, failed to conquer Equestria, the balance shifted." Luna choked back her guilt. "And since harmony won in the end, that means that chaos would have to appear again on an even grander scale. And it all has to do with the Elements of Harmony being released upon my return."
Sound-Off's eyes widened in realization. "First you returned. Then Discord was released. And after he was imprisoned, the changelings rose to power. But then, that means since they were defeated by a powerful blast of pure love magic then something needs to happen to restore balance! And to counter something so powerful, an even stronger chaos must arise! It could very well be the end of days!"
Luna nodded her head. "That is indeed the case. But you are mistaken about one detail. I never said my return marked the first upset of balance. Only that it started the offset of balance in Equestria."
"In Equestria?" Sound-Off questioned. "Are you saying that the balance has been broken someplace else?"
"Not necessarily another place, you must keep in mind that both my sister and I are over five-thousand years old. And Equestria, is still in its youth." Luna blew the dust from the ancient tome, and ran a hoof down its musty cover.
Sound-Off glanced at the cover curiously. The book was bound by a leather cover- which was off-putting enough as it was- but the centerpiece of the book was a twelve-sided gem that shimmered with more colors than she thought could have possibly ever existed. Just staring into it made her feel as if she were going mad. Thankfully, Luna flipped open the book with a glow from her horn as she undid the many magical seals placed upon its pages. Somepony really hadn't wanted this book to be read.
"What is that?" Sound-Off gasped out.
"A forgotten piece of history." Luna whispered, before her voice rose. "You remember 'The Tale of the Carnes ad Vescendum Conferunt, Midsummer Dream and Morning Star', do you not?"
"Well, yeah!" Sound-Off answered. "You and Gallant used to read it to me every night!"
"I must be honest with you Sound-Off, thou are comparable to thy own kin. The beloved fairy-tale of yours, hath only been told in partial."
Luna took in a deep breath, and began to read.

...

Sound-Off stared at the lunar princess in shock. "But- but why?! Why would he do that?! He's the hero!"
Luna put a gentle hoof underneath the dragoness's chin. "It is time you come to learn Sound-Off, that in this world, there is no such thing as a hero. I, am proof of that. My sister, the beloved sun princess and bringer of light, is proof of that."
"But- but, he is the hero! He protected the unicorns! He protected his sisters!" The reptile argued. "He didn't have to- he didn't have to- to kill them! They were his family! And he didn't have to- he didn't have to-"
The alicorn pulled the dragoness into her warmth, her own cheeks growing wet. "I know my dear, I know. But now do you understand? This threat we're facing. One that could very well mean not just the complete destruction of Equestria, but the utter obliteration of Equis as we know it."
"But you and Celestia are alicorns, with enough strength to move the moon and sun! You can go into the very dreams of ponies and annihilate their very darkest fears! Couldn't you just use your powers to stop him?!"
"My sister and I are indeed that powerful. And once, we would have." Luna remorsefully said, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "You are too young to understand the consequences of such power. A many a millennium ago, we did use our vast magical abilities and enhanced strength for such purposes. We- we committed mass genocide, the extinction of an entire species."
"Wh- what?" Sound-Off breathlessly asked.
"I watched my sister destroy an entire nation, an entire civilization and all of its inhabitants, setting aflame every last single one. And worse? I empowered her, encouraged her even. Our power, we could've used it upon just those who hurt our ponies. But so scared were we, so full of fear, that we slaughtered them all. The warmongers." Luna paused, her voice turning into a pained whisper. "The innocent. It made no difference. Celestia brought fire from the skies, a plague of flame such as Equis had never seen! I brought a coldness. A darkness so vast that it brought with it famine, chill, and hunger. I watched my sister murder a child! Nay, murder is too light of a term. I watched my sister butcher a child, no older than an infant. I'll never forget the child's wails when Celestia ripped her from her mother's dying arms, and the silence that followed. And why?"
Sound-Off's face fell. "Why?"
Luna's chest began to heave rapidly. Her voice rose to a pained cry. "Because we were afraid? No. We weren't afraid anymore! We did it because we could. Because we had the power to. We knew that we were in the wrong, but who was to stop us? We completely annihilated each and every predator, predat-ress, and pup! All, but one. Self-preservation is a powerful thing. He became the only thing he could, a monster. And as such, we hunted him down! Pursued him tirelessly, across plains, mountains, forests, and rivers! When we found him? Weak. Starving. Beaten. A mere shadow of his formal self. We turned him to stone. The innocent's name?"
"What- what was his name?" The dragoness asked; although, she already knew.
"Discord." The lunar princess breathed out, walking over to the window overlooking the statue garden. "And then, Celestia and I vowed never to use our powers in that manner ever again. But I obviously broke my promise, and so did my sister."
"Celestia? What did Celestia do?" Sound-Off fearfully inquired.
Princess Luna turned away from the window, and walked back over to the dragoness. She glanced back down at the book, picking it back up in her magic as she sat down. "Yet another piece of history my sister has stowed away from the prying eyes of our ponies."
"What is it?" The reptile asked once Luna had plopped down next to her.
"The truth behind the abandoned and desolated region known as, Hollow Shades. It's in old-ponish, same as the last, so I'll read it to you." The blue alicorn answered, before clearing her throat and flipping to the correct chapter. "There once was a kingdom of ponies, apart from the solar crown, named Hollow Shades."
Sound-Off glanced at the illustration on the worn yellowed pages. It depicted a rather happy town, not at all dissimilar in looks in comparison to Ponyville, full of happy ponies. But the neighboring page was the one that caught her in surprise. It showed not just ponies, but gryphons, threstrals, and even the black-chitined changelings living amongst the ponies. She swore that she could even make out the silhouettes of a few dragons and diamond dogs in the painted crowd. Each face was happy; smiling and laughing together, the young and the old.
Luna continued on. "For you see after the imprisonment of their queen, Queen Luna-"
"Queen?" Sound-Off interrupted, face muddling with confusion.
"Indeed. Back then, before my banishment, my sister and I had separated ourselves completely from our ponies. Naturally, they worshiped us as no less than gods. With both love," Luna's eyes darkened. "and fear. And with good reason. Of which you shall now learn. For you see after the imprisonment of their queen, Queen Luna, the ponies took their gryphon and changeling slaves to the nation of the threstrals."
The dragoness interrupted again. "Wait, the ponies once kept the gryphons and changelings as slaves?!"
"Unfortunately so. Did you think the changelings attacked us today for no reason? They are the true and first Equestrians, it was the ponies who intruded on their lands. And it was the ponies who enslaved them, seeing them as no more than mindless animals to preform party tricks." Luna stated. "As for the gryphons? The gryphons have been enslaved by the ponies for almost three-thousand years, usually taken from their homeland of Gryphonia before their fledgling feathers hath even shed. And at one point, they were bred for slavery. Bigger, leaner, more robust gryphons for physical labor. Pure-colored, elegant-feathered, fluffier gryphons for the aristocratic to keep as pets. But no matter the breed, each held the same broken spirit and hopeless eyes. But the threstrals, oh the threstrals, the very ponies I swore to protect and those that loyally followed me even when I became Nightmare Moon, suffered the worst."
"What happened to them?" Sound-Off asked, getting a bad feeling in her belly.
"It would be best to continue the story." Luna said, swallowing her pain. "The threstrals welcomed their brethren that had split from the traitorous sun with open hooves. They threw a grand party on the night of their arrival, slave and pony alike were invited. Through autumn, winter, and spring the kingdom of Hollow Shades prospered. But then the summer came, and upon that first warm night came the fire raining down."
The princess turned the page to reveal a single picture split amongst the pages. Sound-Off gasped at the next illustration. It depicted the residents of Hollow Shades fleeing in panic-stricken terror, some body part or another caught aflame or mangled in a horrid way. They fled from their destroyed homes. Some carried in their arms their young, others held onto each other with tears in their eyes. A gryphon and pony held claw and hoof as a ball of white-hot fire roared towards them. Their eyes were closed. Waiting. And atop of it all, surrounded by a raging inferno, was a single white alicorn. But instead of the soft pastel mane and gentle eyes Sound-Off had come to know, there was only hair of flame and slit-eyes of cruelty. And her kind patient smile had been replaced with a harsh sneer, one that harbored no such motherly intent. Her golden armor illuminated by blues, oranges, yellows, and reds; Celestia burnt Hollow Shades to the ground.
"As punishment for the threstrals' crimes against the crown in allying with Queen Luna, and for the ponies' betrayal and disownage of their Equestrian heritage, the kingdom of Hollow Shades repaid the debt owed to Equestria with the lives of its citizens." Luna's voice fell again as she choked back her sobs. "It is unknown just how many made it out alive that night. Those that did went into hiding, and the threstrals themselves became tales of legends."
The alicorn closed the book, and set it between her hooves. Sound-Off put a claw against the princess's neck, a welcomed comfort in this moment of guilt and sadness.
"But Luna," Sound-Off began. "I don't understand. What does this have to do with- with him? The corrupted unicorn from 'The Tale of the Carnes ad Vescendum Conferunt, Midsummer Dream and Morning Star', Grim Noise?"
"Those unfortunate souls of Hollow Shades caught amongst the blaze?" Luna looked away from Sound-Off. "They became the first Eidolon. With their death, came the birth of Grim Noise's army. Eidolon are the polluted and tortured souls from that tragic day, that inspirit a pony and corrupt the innocent into unwilling living marionettes known as Obscures."
The reptile shuddered, from both her fear and the sudden cold wracking her body. "But what do the Obscure do?"
"It's not so much of a matter of what they can do, but rather what they can become. Individuals that have been completely consumed by being Obscures for long enough ultimately become nothing more than but skin to be worn, all aspects of personality destroyed. And in ways I've yet to understand, the physical form of those possessed change into something so horrendous that I cannot even begin to describe it. These beings are aptly referred to as, the Vanished. And once a pony has become a Vanished, there is no salvation for their souls."
"But what about the Elements of Harmony? They imprisoned Discord, and they were able to free you from the miasma's control!" Sound-Off exclaimed. "Couldn't they just, you know, rainbow-magic Grim Noise and his minions into oblivion?"
"No!" Luna suddenly yelled, wings flaring out. When Sound-Off flinched, the alicorn reigned in her voice and emotions with a deep breath. "It is imperative that the Element Bearers know not of our foe, the Elements of Harmony are far too important to Equestria. It is crucial that Twilight Sparkle and her friends are not involved by any cost. The Element Bearers are more than just Equestria's greatest defense, they are Equestria's figureheads just as much as I, Cadence, or Celestia. Not even my sister herself knows of Grim Noise, and I have every intent to keep it that way."
"But why?" Sound-Off demanded. "If they're our greatest defense, then why exclude them?"
"Because, if something were to happen to just one of them, say Applejack got into a farming accident that resulted in her death, then the Elements of Harmony will fail. Even if just one of the Elements were to spontaneously disappear, there will be war without a doubt as soon as word gets out to the other countries." Luna explained. "Equestria already has its enemies Sound-Off. The kingdom of Gryphonia to the east, which we have already been in one war with, and since hath been on the brink of war from there after. And I am sorry to say that, the Dragon Kingdom hath always been unpredictable. We may be at peace with our enemies for now, but peace does not mean without conflict and liabilities."
"Those are both wars we can't afford to wage." Sound-Off pointed out.
Luna nodded her head. "Our nemeses are indeed vast, and neither my sister nor I are indestructible and nay are we immortal. Proven when Queen Chrysalis managed to subdue Celestia, the most powerful pony I know."
"Then how do you plan on stopping Grim Noise without Princess Celestia or the Elements of Harmony, surely not by yourself!" Sound-Off cried out in alarm at the thought of Luna taking on all of this alone.
"No. I could never even hope to end Grim Noise's reign of terror on my own. And that is why I formed a special operations team consisting of no more than at this moment six individuals hoof-picked by my own hooves, meant for the sole purpose of killing Grim Noise and his ever-growing army." Luna stated, pushing herself up and gesturing for the dragoness to follow as she lit up her horn and teleported them out of the library. 
When the spots of light faded from Sound-Off's eyes, she found herself and the lunar princess in a crumbling stone corridor. "Wh- where are we?!"
Luna smiled. "Welcome, to the Castle of the Heavens. Better known today as, the Castle of the Two Sisters."
Sound-Off gasped. "You mean, we're in the castle of the Everfree?! The first capital of Equestria?!"
"Indeed. It is safest place to be for what I am about to reveal to you." Luna said as she trotted on. "Because of the rapid rise and concerning amount of Obscures and Vanished, to help combat Grim Noise I hath created a witching hour organization known as Z.O.D.I.A.C. Or, Zeniths of Order Directed by the Institution Against Chaos."
"Quite the fancy acronym." The reptile commended.
"Thank you!" Luna exclaimed. "It took me hours to come up with it! Now as I was saying, the individuals of this group aren't chosen for their physical characteristics such as strength or endurance, nor for their mental capacities. Rather, they are chosen for and because at some point in time, in one way or another, their very souls have been bound by fate. In such a way that, they cannot be possessed and become Obscures."
"The perfect team essentially." Sound-Off noted.
"Indeed. And what's more, through this team I have managed to create a spell that allows an agent to free a pony from Eidolon control." A prideful twinkle glimmered in the alicorn's eyes. "Because the Eidolon inhabit the Obscure it would be normally impossible to kill the Eidolon without killing the host along with it, but thanks to a few special enchanted weapons we can now take down the Eidolon without harming the host."
"That's incredible!" The dragoness exclaimed. "What is the spell called?"
Luna's smile grew. "I call it, the Dream-Catcher Spell. Using my very own dream-based magic, I devised a spell that would cause any weapon to pass harmlessly through the possessed pony but hit and maim the Eidolon within."
"And it's called the Dream-Catcher Spell because it works like a dream catcher, the good dream passes harmlessly through but nightmares get caught in the web and then destroyed by the sunlight!" Sound-Off concluded.
"Trade the sunlight for the edge of the weapon itself, and you are correct. Still, I am impressed Sound-Off. The capacities of your mind never cease to amaze me." Luna stated. "You are young, and while it pains me to expose you to such horrors because of that, and do believe me when I say it does, I have no doubt that you would make a fine agent. Of course, until you've had the proper training and grown by quite a few years, all of your missions won't be on the field. It is for that reason, and because of the strength of your soul, that I would like to invite you to join Z.O.D.I.A.C."
"M- me?" Sound-Off gasped, pointing a claw at herself. "You think I could defeat Grim Noise?"
"Not alone, no. But with the help of the other members? Yes." The alicorn said a-matter-of-factly. "You are wise beyond your years Sound-Off. To put it simply, you are the Twilight Sparkle of dragons."
The dragoness couldn't help but to blush at the princess's comment. "Tha- thank you. But- but what if I decided not to join. I mean, I'm going to join! But just, what if?"
"Well," Luna began. "nopony outside of the organization is allowed to know anything. And the slightest slip of the tongue by any of the agents is punishable by execution."
Sound-Off gulped. "Oh my."
"But of course I'm not going to kill you. I rather like you too much." Princess Luna reassured. "I would simply erase your memory with a watered-down version of the Blank-Slate spell."
"Oh." The reptile simply said.
"However, since that is not the case," Luna stopped at the end of the corridor. It appeared to be nothing more than a decaying wall, but a quick ignite from her horn and the illusion spell was lifted. "welcome to Z.O.D.I.A.C."

***

Scarlet Thorn nodded her head. "That does make the most sense. And Princess Luna was right, you're amazing when it comes to handling the organization's security and files. But this isn't going to be like organizing papers, this is an actual on the field mission."
"I know." Sound-Off nervously gulped, before Luna's words flooded her eyes with confidence. "But I can do this! I'm ready to finally start working on the field like you and Gallant!"
Scarlet couldn't help but to smile. Sound-Off had the determination, the courage, the optimism, and most importantly the will of a full-fledged founding agent such as herself. Still, it was hard for her to see the young dragoness as a fully competent being; especially since the little one was a lot more intelligent then she let on. And unlike that lazy purple and green dragon Princess Twilight called her assistant, Sound-Off was straight to the point and very down to earth on her views. A dragon of pure business and delegation. If she had set a goal for herself, she would achieve it no matter what.
"Hey, I'm proud of you Agent Capricorn." Scarlet stated, sensing that the tiny ego-stroke would do the reptile wonders.
Sound-Off beamed, her sharp fangs curved into a smile. "Thanks Agent Scorpio, but I'm only as good as my team."
"Good thing you have the best then." The pegasus winked. "No creature can withstand my blade for very long."
"Say Scarlet, where is your scythe?" Sound-Off asked, realizing that the mare had not had it with her when they had entered the wormhole.
"In the pocket-dimension we're on route for." The mare answered. "I can't risk Black Dawn seeing it. It would lead to too many questions."
"Oh." The dragoness's blush turned sheepish. "That makes sense."
"So," The silver-maned mare's smile turned devilish. "are you ready for this mission, newbie?"
Sound-Off accepted the pegasus's challenge. "Watch me!"
A sound not unlike fabric slowly ripping suddenly interrupted their conversation, and the pressure around the two increased rapidly.
"Ooooh." Sound-Off moaned, clutching her stomach. "I hate this part."
"We're about to transect the dimensional line!" The pony behind her called out over the turbulence. "Hang on!"
Slasher gave his wings one final powerful stroke, and the swirling vortex around them collapsed.
> A Mane of Silver, a Heart of Gold, and a Blade of Steel (4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A light grey earth pony slowly stumbled into the patio of Café Hay. The usually proud mare walked with her head almost to the ground, and her shoulders hunched. Her mahogany mane and tail were unusually unkempt, knots upon knots with strands poking out at odd angles. She carried suitcases underneath her purple eyes, and a deep frown upon her face. Her coat was no better than her mane; the fur was matted with so much sweat that her cutiemark, a violet treble clef, was severely deformed. The mare was even missing her signature bow tie.
She walked over to a mushroom themed table, where an equally disheveled cream-coated earth pony mare with a bedraggled pink and navy blue mane sat on a pile of hay opposing her. At first the other mare failed to realize that another pony had joined her, but when she finally did the first mare was greeted with puffy red eyes.
"Oh. You- you made it Octavia." The mare who had already been sitting sniffled out.
"Of course, it's the least I could do Bon Bon." Octavia rasped out.
Bon Bon wiped her nose on her foreleg. "Any news?"
"I'm afraid not." Octavia stated with a shake of her head. "I know it's only been a week, but I can't help but to worry! I mean it's not unlike Vinyl to disappear for weeks at a time, but never without telling me first and keeping me informed!"
"And Lyra has never stayed out of the house for more than a couple of hours, even for a music gig!" Bon Bon quickly blurted out before throwing her head into the air and wailing, "Oh Lyra!"
Octavia put an empathetic hoof on her friend's shoulder. "There there, I'm sure they'll both turn up sooner or later. Safe and unharmed."
Bon Bon picked her head off of the table. "How can you be sure?"
"I just know darling." Came Octavia's sweet but naive reply.

***

Sound-Off upchucked the remains of her breakfast over the side of the island and collapsed against Scarlet Thorn with a pained moan.
The pegasus gently rubbed the center of the dragoness's back. "Are you feeling better now Sound-Off?"
"No." Sound-Off groaned. "Ugggh, I hate interdimensional traveling."
"Don't worry, it's not so bad once you get used to it." Scarlet said, helping the little reptile upwards.
Around the pony and dragoness lie a world of distortion. There were no distinguishable landmarks, only islands of varying sizes made of dark purple crystals floating over an abyss. It was dizzying to look at, and with no identifiable sky it was all but impossible to tell if they were even moving. This was a pocket-dimension unique to Scarlet's Tartarus Chiroptera alone, and quite literally the lair of the beast.
"Let's not do this again Scarlet. Next time, let's just go over to Gallant and I's cottage and talk it out there."
The pegasus shook her head. "No can do Sound-Off. We can't risk anypony learning about Z.O.D.I.A.C. or Grim Noise and his minions. It would cause a state of panic."
Sound-Off rubbed her beige-scaled belly, and burped. "I get it, but that doesn't mean you're not being inconsiderate."
Scarlet Thorn rolled her eyes before unraveling Princess Luna's scroll and clearing her throat. 



Agent Capricorn, there isn't much time! You must get this message to Agent Scorpio and if possible Agent Aries immediately! Since Agent Pisces is here with me, and both Agent Leo as well as Agent Gemini are off elsewhere, I trust that you and Agent Scorpio will be able to handle the situation. It has come to my attention that three unicorns from Ponyville have recently gone missing, Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch, and Lily Lace. Alongside the in-training Agent Libra, I have scoured the dreamscape for the missing mares- and to no such luck. However, with the aid of Agent Pisces, I have devised a spell to track the individual magic of a unicorn. The results were disturbing to say the least. It would appear that your missing fellow townsponies are somewhere within the Everfree forest, and far deeper than I would like. I felt a dark presence among them, Eidolon I am sure. If they have been missing for so long than I am sure that it's regrettable to say that they have become Obscures. Agent Capricorn, I know this will be your first mission. But I trust you both, and you have never let me down before. Put your faith into Agent Scorpio. And please, just stay alive. Save my ponies and your fellow citizens, before they are consumed by the Eidolon and become part of the Vanished! With Grim Noise's growing power I fear that it may already be too late. Best of luck to you and any other agents accompanying.



The scroll was hastily written, told by its sloppy penmanship, and was missing Luna's signature. But this wasn't an unusual occurrence among the letters the agents received. Its urgency meant that, no matter how slight, there was still a chance for them to save the Obscure. And while in the grand scheme of things saving three ponies wouldn't hinder Grim Noise, thwarting one plan meant keeping Equestria from its destruction for just a little while longer.
Scarlet Thorn rolled the scroll back up, and stuffed it down her corset. She climbed onto the the Tartarus Chiroptera's back. "We need to get going. Slasher, my scythe please."
"Hey, wait for me!" Sound-Off yelled, flying over to the mare and taking her place on the saddle. The dragoness had no desire to get left behind, or worse lost, in such a misshapen world.
It didn't take long for them to come across a scythe embedded into a large island. Slasher landed next to the weapon, and the pegasus yanked it out with no trouble. It was a huge steel blade, elongated and widened like a crescent moon.  The handle was a dark black, and it ended with a large series of barbs. Atop the scythe lie an outline of a heart, a cute decoration that was overlooked in comparison to the sharp edge.
Scarlet couldn't help but to grin. There was just something that felt so right about holding her scythe in her hooves, it was almost humbling. She lovingly caressed the blade. "Ready?"
Sound-Off didn't bother to respond. The dragoness knew that the mare hadn't meant the question for her, but rather for her blade. She had been around the pony long enough to know that the very second that scythe was in her hooves, the pegasus lost all traits of gentleness and motherly aspects. She wasn't with Scarlet Thorn anymore; the mare behind her was the ruthless and cruel, if not sadistic, Agent Scorpio. And as long as a scorpion had its tail, it would sting. It was in the scorpion's nature after all.

***

Black Dawn trotted down the streets of Ponyville, having gotten bored at his friend's. Audio Crash was one of those ponies who was always stuck in his own little world. It seemed to the little pegasus colt that his friend's entire life revolved around compact cassettes and their contents. That pony could just lay there and listen to whatever was recorded on the tapes from dawn to dusk. So naturally Black Dawn had gotten bored and left. The colt sighed. It wasn't even noon and yet the day felt over.
"I wish dad hadn't taken away my stupid gamecolt." He muttered, feeling sorry for himself. He didn't even think to bring his bit bag, so stopping at Sugarcube Corner was a no-go.
"Black Dawn, hey Dawn! Dawn, you'll never guess what happened!"
Black Dawn turned around only to blush. The pony galloping excitedly toward him from across the plaza was his friend Ink Token, an amethyst unicorn with a sable and violet mane. Her magenta eyes sparkled with such enthusiasm that Black Dawn couldn't help but to mimic it back.
"Hey Ink Token!" He greeted. "What's up?"
"Look, look, look, look, look!" The filly chanted, almost running into him. She shoved her flank in his face. "I finally got my cutiemark!"
Black Dawn's blush deepened, and he stumbled backwards. "W- wow! That's so great! How'd you get it?"
"Well," Ink Token's eyes rolled upwards as she recounted the memory. "I was practicing my sketches when my big sister Inky Rose came home after buying some new fabric for some big project she's been working on. And she saw the drawing I was working on and she said it would make a wicked tattoo, so I asked if I could draw it on her and she said yes!"
The filly paused to take a deep breath. And pointed passionately at her cutiemark. Not unlike her sister's, Ink Token's cutiemark was of a rose. More so, it was of a silhouette of a rose on a thorny stem. Black Dawn thought it suited her.
"And when I finished there was this flash of light and this warm tingly feeling, like when your leg falls asleep kind of, and then, it just appeared like that! I got my cutiemark!" Ink Token practically screamed out the last part. "Mom says we're going to have a huge cute-ceañera, and of course you're invited, and I got my cutiemark!"
Black Dawn's ears folded against his head. While he was just as excited and happy for his friend as she was for herself, he really wished that she wouldn't be so loud. "Yeah, I'll definitely be there! I'll ask mom if she can make a couple of quiches!"
"You know," Ink Token began, thankfully calming down. "what does your mom do anyways? I mean, I know you're dad is a super famous singer so he must make a lot of bits, but what does your mom do? I've never even really seen her out in Ponyville unless its at the marketplace or when she's with you."
"I don't know." Black Dawn shrugged his shoulders. "She use to work at some factory in Cloudsdale with dad, but after dad became famous and I was born she quit. She writes now, but her books aren't that popular. I guess she just does pretty boring stuff."

***

The air whistled past Scarlet Thorn as she plummeted, whipping through her mane and tail and causing the hair to billow behind her. The pegasus outstretched her wings, loving the sensation of the air rushing between her feathers.
"Aw yeah! Wooo-hooo!" The mare screamed out.
The forest below was quickly rising up to meet her. Like claws the tree branches reached out to snag at her soft fur and unarmored flesh. The mare welcomed the challenge, throwing her scythe out in front of her. With the expertise of a Wonderbolt she twisted her body around, and instead of battering herself against the trees the edge of her scythe caught like a hook around a thick branch. The blade dug into the hardened wood, making it about halfway through.
Scarlet flipped her body onto the branch, tugging her scythe out after. "That, never gets old."
Sound-Off flew down after her, a panicked look etched on her face. "You just jumped at least three-thousand feet straight down into the Everfree without so much as a parachute or even warning me first!"
The pegasus stretched her forelegs behind her head, giving the dragoness an unamused glance. "Only three-thousand? Lame. That's not even one third of my best record."
"You are just the literal worst to work with." Sound-Off huffed, gliding down to the forest floor.
"You just need to learn to keep up." Scarlet jumped down after, moving her scythe to her back. She steadied the handle under her wings before continuing. "I don't play nice or well with others. Other than Agent Aries, Agent Taurus is the only other one I can actually get along with. And you know she's not much of a speaker."
"Well please, keep being louder than a cockatrice in heat so the enemy knows that we're coming." Sound-Off sarcastically remarked.
Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah? And they're not going to sense the presence of a deadly force of flame and destruction marching straight toward them?"
Sound-Off slumped her shoulders in frustration. While it was true that she could blow a flame that was larger than average for a dragon her age, it was still a far cry from a real accomplishment. "Let's just find these missing mares already, and get the buck out of here. The Everfree gives me the creeps."
At the mention of the missing mares the dragoness noticed a flash of Scarlet Thorn trickling through Agent Scorpio, but it quickly disappeared. Nonetheless, the pegasus picked it up to a fast trot. "Keep an eye out for clues. This is only a rough location of where Lyra, Lily, and Vinyl could be. We don't have enough time to double check the area, so let's not miss anything in our first sweep."
"You don't have to tell me that." Sound-Off grumbled, inspecting the ground for tracks.
A lump in the dirt caught her attention. It could've been a rock, or just a clump of mud. But it was a little too large and oddly shaped for the dragoness's liking. She jogged over to it, and kicked it with her foot. It came flying loose from the ground, and bounced off of a fallen log.
"Did you find something or are you playing?" Scarlet roughly inquired.
Sound-Off glared at her. "I'm not playing. And yes, I think I found something. It looks like a shoe."
"A shoe?" The mare inquired, trotting over to Sound-Off who was now turning the battered shoe in her claws. "Do you think it belongs to one of our mares?"
"That Lily Lace is a fashion designer and a seamstress right?" The reptile answered.
Scarlet poked at the shoe. "Well the dirt in here is firm and lacking moisture, so that means that she must've lost this shoe a while back ago. See if you can find any tracks."
"Will do." Sound-Off twittered, dropping the shoe and scampering away.
Meanwhile, the pegasus headed the opposite direction. Close enough to keep her partner in sight, but far enough to cover a good amount of ground. Nothing appeared to be out of place and no detail jumped out at her. It was really just roots, bushes, rocks, and dirt. She moved over to the brush and began to peek underneath for anything that could've gotten caught on the prickly leaves. She scanned the bush's exposed roots but ultimately declared it as nothing of interest. 	
Just as she was walking away, the sun broke through the clouds and dense foliage. Something glinted purple from within the bush's roots. Scarlet quickly trot back over to the bush, and pressed her belly against the ground. She had to paw at the roots and dig into them a little, but it wasn't too difficult to pull out her treasure. 
At first it didn't seem like much, an almost minuscule shard of purple plastic. A literal piece of trash for all she knew. But it just struck her as out of place. They were far too deep into the Everfree for some delinquent to have dumped his trash on the ground. She continued to eye the shard suspiciously. Until she realized its significance; the missing unicorn known as Vinyl Scratch wore a pair of equally purple shades. Scarlet figured if she searched around that area a little bit more...
"There!" The mare exclaimed, pulling out a beaten and bent pair of shades. "Sound-Off, I found something!"
The dragoness ran over to her. "What is it? What did you find?"
Scarlet held up the broken glasses. "Don't these look like they could belong to DJ Pon-3? Signs of a struggle maybe?"
"Where did you find them?" Sound-Off asked.
"Over here, in these bushes by this tree." Scarlet answered.
"Well if you ask me," Sound-Off began, analyzing the situation. "It would appear that something startled the mare, causing her to panic and slam into the tree. The impact would've dazed her and knocked her glasses off. Or worse case scenario, knocked her out. And while it's faint, my dragon nose is picking up on the scent of sulfur. So whether the three had been together or not, somepony definitely used a fire spell here recently."
"Do you smell any blood?" The pegasus asked.
Sound-Off pursed her lips. "I'm not sure if it's the scent of blood or the naturally iron rich veins in the surrounding rocks."
"But we're on the right trail." Scarlet concluded.
"No doubt about it. All three mares must've passed through here at some point." Sound-Off concurred, when a thought occurred to her. "Hey Scarlet, what do we know about these three ponies? I may need to reevaluate the situation."
"Well let's see." The pegasus put a hoof to her chin. "Lily Lace was the first to go missing. While her missing report is dated for the beginning of the week, she officially disappeared three days prior. Her cousin who had been staying with her at the time, a unicorn mare from Canterlot named Sunshine Smiles, reports that Lily left early that morning as per her normal routine for a morning trot and to check the fabric store for her new order. However the owner of the shop, another unicorn mare named Ribbon Wishes, and her sales assistant, an earth pony mare named Ribbon Heart, both report that Lily Lace never came in that morning."
"And what of her cousin?" Sound-Off pried. "She didn't notice anything abnormal that morning?"
"No. However, she did report that later that night Lily Lace broke into her home via the kitchen window. Sunshine Smiles claims it was the last time she saw her cousin, who was a frantic mess and appeared to be tearing apart the house looking for something." Scarlet Thorn noted. "Unfortunately, Sunshine Smiles had no clue about what it could've been. And whatever it was, Lily Lace didn't find it either. As soon as Sunshine reached out to her, Lily jumped back out the window. The only other thing we know is that according to Sunshine, Lily Lace was covered in shallow scratches and had leaves recognizable from the Everfree forest in her mane and tail. Sunshine then reported Lily Lace as missing three days later, after giving the mare some time to return."
"That doesn't make sense." Sound-Off scrunched her face in thought. "Why would Lily have to break into her own house? And why would she run from her own cousin? Even if she was an Obscure, confronting the personal lives of those they possess just isn't something they do."
Scarlet shook her head. "I'm not sure either. Maybe Lily escaped being possessed? No, that still doesn't sound right. She would've wanted Sunshine to know that they were in danger. It also definitely doesn't explain why she was making such a ruckus looking for whatever it was that was in the house."
"What about the other two mares, when did they disappear?" Sound-Off queried.
"Lyra Heartstrings was the next to be reported missing, three days after Lily Lace. And, unlike Sunshine, Lyra's marefriend Bon Bon reported her missing the evening she didn't return." Scarlet recounted the reports. "Vinyl Scratch, better known as DJ Pon-3, actually disappeared the same night. Her roommate and long-time friend Octavia Melody reports that Vinyl had been abnormally quiet and jumpy that day. Her biggest concern was that Vinyl had gone out without her headphones. But she did mention that the unicorn had checked-out a basic defensive and offensive spell book from Twilight four days prior."
"So the mare was listening for something." Sound-Off figured out. "My guess is that she knew that she was being followed, but she probably didn't know by what. The residue from the fire spell that was used in this area must've been from her after all. And the timing of her checking-out that book chalks it up to the day of Lily Lace's disappearance. Nothing irregular or out of place on Lyra's behalf?"
"Nothing at all. Bon Bon reports that Lyra left that afternoon to meet her friends Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts at the Ponyville Train Station, and never came home.  Her friends report that after picking them up from the station the three went to the Hay Burger for lunch, and a movie at the theater followed after. Then Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine popped off to see their other friend Minuette. Neither of the two could recall Lyra acting strangely." Scarlet Thorn finished.
Sound-Off faltered, unable to come up with a logical pattern. "I can't make sense of any of it! One mare disappears only to suddenly appear again, before running away. The next mare knows something is wrong, but doesn't say anything to her friend. And the final mare just vanishes out of the blue. The only thing they have in common is that all three are unicorn mares!"
"We're wasting time. Instead of trying to find commonalities, we should be focusing on what each one lacks." Scarlet pointed out. "What we do know, or at least what we can infer, was that all three mares were being hunted at the same time. The question we need to be asking is why them out of any other unicorn? Think about it logically. Why not Rarity? Not only is she the Element of Generosity, but she's also fairly gifted with magic. There's also Starlight Glimmer to consider. So that helps us rule out the idea that this was a power grab."
"You said Lily Lace's cousin was also a unicorn, and now that you mention it that Trixie pony was in town for a while too." The dragoness considered, weighing the uniqueness of the unicorns.
"I'm not sure of the exact implications." The pegasus admitted. "but I am sure of one thing. Those mares are in terrible danger, and we need to pick up their trail."
"Well let's not wait any longer!" Sound-Off exclaimed, rushing into the brush.
The mare hurried after her, barely able to keep track of the small dragoness in the undergrowth. "Careful newbie! If we end up separated one of us," she cleared her throat in the reptile's direction, "may not come back out."
From the surrounding forest, a pair of crimson eyes followed the arguing pair.
> Carnage, Crepuscule, and Creed (5)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A bright pink unicorn mare with a two-toned yellow mane sniffled to herself from inside the dimly lit room. It was as dark as she felt. The curtains were purposely closed off and, although electricity was a luxury to have in a town like this, every light in the cottage was switched off. The only light in the house came from the quickly shrinking candle, and that was so pale and faint that it barely reflected off of the mirror in front of the pony.
An overflowing wastebasket neighbored the desk that the mare was currently leaning on, and even more crumpled papers littered the floor. Within the golden aura produced by her horn was a worn peacock quill, and in front of her a fresh sheet of paper. The mare took a shaky breath and put the quill to paper once more.



Dear Moonlight Raven,



The mare stopped. Given the situation, the greeting didn't feel sincere enough. She sighed in frustration and dipped the quill tip into the bottle of ink.



Dear Moonlight Raven sister,
By now I'm sure you've gotten my previous letters, and know about what happened. I want you to know that I'm still safe, and slowly doing better. It hasn't been easy, but somepony needs to be the strong one and I'm the only one here. Since the incident it's actually been fairly quiet. It's odd really. You think the ponies here would be more concerned, but it's like they don't even notice. Perhaps she just didn't have a lot of friends, but so far nopony has come to check in with me. If something like this were to happen back home, nopony would even go outside. But here everypony is still out and about, continuing with their lives like nothing ever happened. I wonder, if they're acting like this when one of their own fellow townsponies has vanished, would they even care if somepony like me suddenly disappeared?



With a growl of frustration, the mare scribbled over that last line. It would be no use to concern her sister. If Moonlight Raven made the trip down to comfort her that was only one more worry on the mare's shoulders. The unicorn rubbed her temples and tried again.



I'm probably over exaggerating. The ponies here aren't that bad. And although I haven't really left the house since the incident I've still managed to make at least one new friend. We actually met because I finally decided to try one of those omnivore restaurants that have been popping up! Her name is Giselle, and she's a gryphon. She recently moved from Griffonstone to be closer to her training grounds. She practices racing through canyons infested with quarray eels! Can you believe that? Anyways, I'm not going to come home until she's found. But please don't worry! I'm sure that it won't be much longer until she's home safe and sound. I mean, this is Equestria. It's the safest country there is! If there is even the slightest bit of news, I'll be sure to write you. I promise that I'll be home before you know it! Love,


Sunshine Smiles



Sunshine Smiles's hard face softened. Being able to write out her feelings and thoughts always helped. She reread the letter thrice over before sealing it into a vanilla envelope. It wasn't very descriptive, but it was still the best letter that the mare had been able to churn out.
The unicorn blew out the candle and trotted out the door. If she hurried she might just make it to the post office before the mail designated to Canterlot was taken to the train. And if she were really lucky, she might just get through the line in time to catch Giselle before she left for her training.

***

Scarlet Thorn's ears twitched.
"Did you hear that Sound-Off?" The mare whispered, coming to a halt.
"Well of course I did!" Sound-Off grumpily replied. "You stepped on a twig. Don't scare yourself for no reason."
The dragoness waited for the mare to argue against her; something among the lines of an 'I'm-not-scared' speech. But when it didn't come the reptile actually began to feel a little nervous.
Finally Scarlet decided to speak, and the reptile did not like what she heard in the slightest. "Sound-Off, we're on a cleared path. It couldn't have been me."
Three things happened at once. First there was the sudden snapping of dead leaves and branches. Second was the immediate rush of adrenaline triggered by the two travelers' flight or fight reaction. And finally the dragoness caught the scent of blood.
What burst out of the forest was some freakish hybrid between a timber wolf and a pony. A disproportionate mess of flesh and wood. The monster jumped fully free of the foliage with an unholy screech, leaping clear over the two on unnaturally strung out legs and skidding a few feet away in front of them.
It was like an alicorn never meant to be; tall, slender, and elongated. A skeleton with a tight fitting suit of stolen skin. Its hind legs were longer than its fore-legs and bent backwards, like a grasshopper's. From the patches of marred yellow coat sprang spires of ebony black wood, an armor sprouting from all over its body. It poked out from pieces of bloody flesh, squiggling out like worms. A stiff protrusion of wood clad bone shot up from its back in a fashion similar to wings, and the scabrous bark mutilated a majority of what appeared to be its face. Tatters of purple lace were caught on the sharp jagged spires. Three bone like protrusions sprung from atop its skull, two like antlers and one a horn not dissimilar to Celestia's. It slowly rose to its full height, mad gaze locked onto Scarlet Thorn and Sound-Off.
"LOOK OUT!" The pegasus shouted, tackling the reptile to the ground just as the thing pounced where they had been standing.
Training reflexes took over after that, and the dragoness sprang into action. She rolled under a powerful swipe from the thing's gnarled claws, countering it with a blast of magical purple flame. The thing squealed and bucked as the fire consumed its face, melting chunks of skin to reveal hollow bone underneath. 
"What is that?!" Sound-Off screamed, instinctively backing away.
"A Vanished!" The pony answered after rejoining the dragoness's side, quickly pulling her scythe off of her back.
The Vanished shook the flame off and roared. Grisly crimson spittle flew out of its maw, and its jaw unhitched to reveal a ropy tongue and row upon row of needle teeth. With a snarl and a swing of its head, the thing charged at them.
"Move!" Scarlet ordered, leaping aside.
With carefully practiced skill the pegasus swung her scythe out at its flank, dragging the blade through flesh. The thing shrieked, and swiftly swiveled its heavy body around. Scarlet was just able to block the blow, but the force from the impact pushed her back a few feet. Heart beating rapidly in her chest, the pony slipped under the monster's claw which left a crater in the ground where her head had been.
"Scarlet! Behind you!" Sound-Off yelled, gliding over to the mare before seizing the mare by her waist and flying her out  of harm's reach.
A second claw slammed into the forest floor. The Vanished turned its head to the flying pair, a deep growl in its throat. It burst into a rapid gallop after them, snapping at the air only inches behind them.
Sound-Off flapped her wings furiously, but with the added weight she couldn't lift them any higher into the air and her wings were already burning from strain. The dragoness was starting to slow down.
Scarlet took notice of this. "Sound-Off, drop me and get to safety! Don't come back no matter what you hear!"
"What?!" The reptile demanded. "Are you bucking insane?!"
"Just do it!" The mare ordered. "I'll find you!" 
"No!" Sound-Off refused, dodging a tree as they entered the treeline. "I can't! I'm not going to leave you!"
"Agent Capricorn, that's an order!" Scarlet angrily urged.
Sound-Off shook her head. "I can carry you! You have to stay alive, you're my superior!"
"Agent Capricorn," The pegasus warned. The Vanished chomped at her tail, ripping out a lock. "as your superior I order you to let me go!"
"NO!" Sound-Off screamed, bursting into tears. "You're more than my superior! You're my friend Scarlet! You've always been my friend since the day I was hatched! I don't want you to die! And you're more than that to others, you're a mother too!"
Scarlet Thorn looked straight into the dragoness eyes. "And that's why I don't plan on dying!"
Sound-Off glanced down at her, lips trembling. "Okay. I trust you."
The dragoness let go of the mare. Scarlet Thorn spun around with the swing of her scythe, carving into the monster's chest. The Vanished yowled, rearing up in pain as it involuntarily stumbled backwards.
"You want some? Come and get some." Scarlet growled, making a motion with her fore-hoof that resembled a crescent moon. "Luna, ut omnium misereatur vestri meam. For our holy goddess Luna."
The Vanished roared. It lowered its head and rushed to greet her. Steel clashed against bone and wood. The pegasus mare leapt back, spinning her scythe around so that the blade faced her foe.  The mare would make good on her promise to Sound-Off.
The pegasus suddenly stormed the Vanished, slashing her scythe wildly. The blade rapidly tore at the monster, breaking hunks of wood into the air. Her strikes, while fast paced, were improbably precise. While the Vanished was forced to turn its entire body in order to meet her because of its bulk and unnatural elongated body, the mare easily darted to and fro successfully surrounding the monster. With each slice more and more of the thing's body was hacked off, soaking the steel with blood. Finally the Vanished had enough and managed to smack into the pony with a swipe from its claws. The mare was thrown against a large tree, and her weapon was knocked away from her.
Seizing its chance, the Vanished leapt forward with its claws outstretched. Scarlet managed to catch her breath with a couple of sputtering crimson coughs just in time, and rolled toward her scythe. The monster crashed against the tree, uprooting it from the soil. While it was dazed, the mare began to gallop over to her blade. As soon as her front right hoof touched the dirt, a lightning bolt of pain caused the pegasus to stumble and trip.
The mare looked down at her leg only to find that her ankle was twisted almost completely the wrong way. It was definitely broken, and she was suffering from at least one fracture and a possible sprain. 
"Damn it." She hissed through grit teeth. The pony knew that without both front hooves that she would be reduced to defensive techniques with the handle in her mouth. It wasn't the most savory option, but it was the one that would allow her return home to her little colt and special somepony at the end of the day.
The mare quickly yet carefully picked herself up, but her fall came at a price. The Vanished was back up on its feet, and angrier than ever. 
Scarlet speedily limped over to where her scythe had fallen and grabbed the handle in between her teeth. Making sure to keep off of her injured leg, she broke into the fastest gallop she could.
There was a hideous squelching and cracking sound, and the pegasus made the mistake of looking back. The bone 'wings' of the monster had suddenly shifted from an upwards position to sticking out at its sides with the spraying of blood and tearing of flesh, the shredded meat now loosely hanging from its body. 
The Vanished then surged after her, tearing through anything that was in its path with the bones turned blades. The pegasus mare was forced to dodge the falling trees that crashed around her, jumping over one only to find another toppling to her right. The fiend was unnaturally fast and light-footed for having such thin limbs, weaving effortlessly between the destruction it caused and simply stepping over others. For each step Scarlet took to get away, the Vanished took three more closer. 
Within seconds the monster was running next to her, herding her with its sharp bones. The mare lashed out at the Vanished with the barb of her scythe, embedding the hooks deep into the flesh just underneath of the bones. Using the handle as a balance beam- but securing her good fore-hoof around the handle- she threw herself into the air and flipped over the monster, the tips of her wings grazing its razor sharp back and shredding the tips of her feathers. She landed on the other side of the thing, blade now facing the Vanished.
The chase continued, both opponents exchanging blows and blocking attacks. Scarlet could feel the wear from running with only three of her hooves, she could feel her stamina starting to slip. Chest and muscles burning, she brought herself to a stop and slid under the monster's bone blades. The wood-scabbed edges scraped her ears and caused them to bleed, but the cuts were still shallow.
While Scarlet paused to catch her breath,the Vanished skidded around a full three-hundred-sixty degrees on rigid legs. Head lowered and serrated horns pointed forward, it charged ahead towards her fully intent on impaling the pony with its horns. The pegasus firmly stood her ground, readying her blade. Only when the monster's horns were less than a foot from her throat did the pegasus move.
She slid directly between the legs of the Vanished, and as soon as she was underneath of the thing's barrel the mare spun herself around and jammed her scythe upwards into its flesh, leaving a yawning rupture from the tip of its barrel to the end of its waning belly. The pegasus slid out from beneath the squealing monster, panting heavily. To her great pleasure the intestines of the Vanished spilled out from the wound with a downpour of black blood.
"Ha!" Scarlet Thorn laughed. "Take that you motherbucker!"
To her surprise, the Vanished slowly but resolutely turned around. Her breath hitched in her raw throat. Even as its innards continued to slowly slide onto the forest floor the monster showed no reaction. It began to walk slowly towards the pony, growing faster with each step. Leaving behind a quickly terminating bloody flesh trail, the Vanished ran at her with a hollow roar. The mare shook herself into action.
With a snort of air the pegasus stormed forward to greet the monster. But what she wasn't expecting was for the Vanished to suddenly stop and rear onto its forelegs. It twisted around so quickly that the still galloping mare had only enough time to try and change direction. With an immensely powerful buck to her barrel that ripped the ground out from underneath her hooves, no doubt shattering that side of her rib cage, the Vanished thrust its head into the air and with the clashing of its jaws snapped up Scarlet's leg. 
Scarlet Thorn screamed in agony as the fangs sunk in just above her left back hoof and tore at a chunk of her flesh which she could feel was hanging freely.
The Vanished then slammed her into the ground, blurring her vision. The torment she felt was excruciating. Her whole body was engulfed in an inferno more blazing than Celestia's sun. And she was losing blood at an alarming rate. The monster must've cleaved an artery with its bite. Quickly losing consciousness in a growing pool of her own life, Scarlet Thorn felt herself being dragged backwards.
> Into the Infernal Pit (6)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarlet Thorn suddenly stopped moving. At first she thought that she had died, but the searing pain from all over her body stated otherwise. Her head was pounding, and she was desperately fighting back unconsciousness. Her ears were still ringing after being slammed into the ground so hard, so she could hardly hear what was going on around her.
Something small suddenly picked up the pegasus, lifting her into the air. The mare watched as the forest floor passed rapidly underneath her. Confused, the mare glanced up.
Sound-Off was flapping her wings like mad. The dragoness was muttering something under her breath as she flew. Scarlet was able to read her lips and made it out to be, "Buck, buck, buck, buck!"
The pegasus weakly coughed, successfully coating her chin in blood. In a feeble voice the mare managed to rasp, "A- Agent Capricorn, wh- what are you doing here?!"
"I know you gave me a direct order, but I couldn't just let you fight that thing by yourself!" Sound-Off sniffed back some tears. "I never should have left! Princess Luna trusted me with this mission, and look what happened!"
"You shouldn't have come back." Scarlet whispered.
"And if I hadn't where would you be?!" Sound-Off snapped, openly crying. "You would have died Scarlet! That thing would have torn you apart! You made your choice, and I made mine! What kind of friend would I be if I just left you to die?!"
"A smart one." Scarlet shakily responded, before coming to a sudden heart-stopping realization. "Where's the Vanished?!"
"I don't know!" Sound-Off answered. "But it's not following! At least, I don't think it is. After I lit it on fire and it dropped you, I just grabbed you and got out of there. Why didn't you call that monster of yours?"
The darkness swam at the pegasus's vision again, threatening to pull her under. But she managed to answer. "Couldn't. It's the Everfree. Something about it makes Slasher turn feral. It's being so close to Tartarus I think."
When the mare gasped out in pain Sound-Off's pace faltered. "Hang on! We're almost to Zecora's!"
"The zebra?" Scarlet asked. Or at least she thought she asked. She didn't feel her mouth move, nor hear the words come out.
"Scarlet?" Sound-Off probed. "Scarlet? Scarlet Thorn?! Don't pass out on me! Scarlet!"
The mare didn't hear her. The darkness had won, and the pegasus was comatose.
"Oh yak dung! Hey, if you can hear me, don't go towards the light!" The dragoness yelled into the unconscious pony's ear.

***

Black Dawn sipped on his chocolate milkshake.
The sweet scent of candy and freshly baked pastries filled the air of Sugarcube corner. The little bakery was brimming with ponies coming and going, putting a halt on their work schedule for a tasty treat. The clamoring of these ponies filled the air. The pegasus colt really didn't mind. He thought the noise added a certain homey aspect to the shop.
A horrendously pink mare with a cutiemark of three balloons bounced over to his table. "Hi Black Dawn!"
The colt shifted uncomfortably. "Um, how do you know my name?"
"Silly filly," The mare chuckled. "I know everyponies' name."
"I'm not a filly." Black Dawn pointed out.
"Well duh." The mare said with a roll of her eyes. "Anyways, I couldn't help but to notice that you haven't told Ink Token about your feelings for her yet."
Black Dawn nearly choked on his milkshake. "What?! I- I don't have a crush on Ink Token!"
"You said it not me." The mare said with a shrug of her shoulders, and then put a hoof to her chin. "Well actually the author said it, but technically because you're speaking I guess you did say it. Never mind! But about Ink Token, you should really talk to her. She was made for you after all."
"I, er- well, uh." Black Dawn stuttered, dumbfounded by the mare.
"Ooh, ooh! Would a song help? I know a great song!" The mare took a deep breath before beginning to sing, "La, la, la, la, la, kiss the girl!"
"Pinkie!" A voice called out. Black Dawn looked over to the counter to see his savior. The shop owner, a blue mare with a dolloped two-toned pink mane, was waving the pink mare over. "Are you bothering the customers again? How many times do I have to tell you to leave them be? I'm sorry about that, I'll take her off of your hooves. Pinkie come here. And for the hundredth time, leave our customers alone unless they talk to you first!"
"Aw, okay." Pinkie sighed. "See you around Black Dawn. Oh, you should probably wipe that chocolate mustache off. Not only is Ink Token about to come out of the restroom, but your dad is about to walk in."
"Pinkie!" The mare behind the counter pressed, glaring at the pink pony.
"Coming!" Pinkie called out. "And it isn't the hundredth time you've told me. It's the ten thousand, six hundred, and twenty-third time."
Black Dawn watched her go. He didn't know how to feel about the mare. She definitely needed a lesson in personal space and she was a little weird, but overall she seemed like a nice and cheerful pony. Wait, had she said that his dad was about to walk in?
Just as Pinkie had predicted, Cobra Strike strolled into the bakery. At first he didn't notice his son sitting in the corner, although it probably didn't help that as soon as he entered the shop he was immediately swarmed by ponies.
"It's Cobra Strike!" One pony, another pink earth pony but with a yellow and light blue mane squealed. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I'm, like, your biggest fan!"
"No you're not Stardash!" An aqua blue pegasus with a turquoise mane retorted. "Because I'm his biggest fan!"
"As if Sprinkle Medley! You didn't even know who he was until you listened to my tapes!" The pink pony retaliated.
"Um, excuse me but if I could just squeeze past." Cobra piped.
His words fell on deaf ears, and another pony rushed him. "Hi there! I'm Meadow Song! I write music and I was wondering if I could give you one of my mix-tapes?"
The brown coated stallion looked so hopeful that Cobra Strike didn't have the heart to turn him down. "Uh, sure. I don't mind. But maybe I could slide-"
"Great!" The stallion cheered, pulling the mix-tape out of his saddlebag. "It's mostly just soft rock, but there's a few songs that are a little more hardcore. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am, it really means a lot to me Mr. Cobra Strike sir."
"Yeah, no problem." The pegasus said, glancing over Meadow Song's head. "Always give newbies a chance, you know? Now if I could-"
An all white unicorn mare slammed into Meadow Song, pushing him out of the way. "So, like, hi! I'm Lovestruck!"
"That's," Cobra paused. It wasn't the first time an obsessed fan proclaimed their love for him. "nice."
"No," The mare rolled her eyes, but giggled. "my name is Lovestruck."
"Oh. Well it's lovely to meet you and all, but I'm actually here to buy-"
"So do you have a marefriend?" Lovestruck interrupted. "None of the magazines are really sure, so I thought I'd get it straight from the source."
Cobra resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Well I actually do have a lovely mare, and if you wouldn't mind I'd like to buy her some-"
"Oh." Lovestruck pouted, but then pressed herself uncomfortably close against him. "So are you and her like a thing, or could you-"
"Could you please back up." Cobra demanded, stepping away from the mare. "And yes, I'm dedicated to my partner. Now if you would just-"
"Fine then!" Lovestruck huffed. "You don't know what you're missing out on!"
Cobra watched as she stomped away in relief. Maybe now he could walk up to the counter and order-
"Excuse me can I-" A voice from behind him started.
"No!" Cobra Strike finally snapped. "Please! I'm just here to buy some cake for my marefriend okay?!"
Almost two thirds of the crowd, mostly mares with the exclusion of two stallions, walked out of the bakery. And the rest returned to their tables or to awkwardly staring at the chalkboard menu above the counter.
The pony he had snapped at, a creme earth pony mare with a pink mane, flinched. "I- I wasn't going to ask anything other than, can I take your order. I'm Florina Tart, I actually work here."
"Oh! Oh! I am so sorry!" The pegasus stallion apologized. "I didn't mean to yell at you."
"It's alright." Florina Tart assured. "You must've been pretty frustrated with all of those ponies pestering you."
Cobra Smiled. Florina reminded him a little of his special-somepony, shy and soft spoken. "No. I really owe a lot to my fans. Without them I wouldn't be the pony I am after all. But I can't deny it does get a little annoying at times. It would be nice if they started treating me like a regular pony."
"I don't know if I could take all that attention." Florina shuddered at the thought. She was about to continue the conversation when she remembered her job. "Oh, actually, could I take your order?"
"That would be great." Cobra stated, glad to finally get some service. "I'm looking to buy a miniature cake for the mare of my life, but I don't actually know exactly what to get her. I was thinking either red velvet or chocolate, which would you recommend?"
"Ooh, tough choice." Florina remarked. "But if you'll follow me to our cake selection I'm sure that we can find exactly what you're looking for."
The mare led him over to a series of large display cases, pointing out different cakes. Meanwhile, Black Dawn watched the exchange. He had been so distracted that he hadn't noticed Ink Token's return until she spoke.
"Hey Dawn, isn't that your dad? Wow, it must be so cool to have a rock star for a parent!" The purple unicorn exclaimed.
"Gah!" The pegasus colt yipped, startled by his friend.
Ink Token smiled. "Hey, we should go say hello to him! And you might want to wipe your face, it looks like you have a mustache."
Black Dawn looked at his reflection on the milkshake glass, and wiped the malt underneath his nose off. "Thanks."
"No problem! Now let's go see your dad!" She exclaimed.
"I don't know, maybe we should-" But the filly had already started galloping across the shop's floor. Black Dawn chased after her. "Ink Token! Ink Token, wait!"
Too late, the unicorn filly had already reached where Cobra and Florina were standing. Black Dawn bumped into her rear, and fell onto his rump.
"Hi Mr. Black Dawn's dad!" Ink Token chirped.
The two adult ponies turned to them.
"Why hello there Ink Token, it's good to see you! And I see you got your cutiemark! Has it really been that long?" Cobra Strike greeted. "And Black Dawn, what are you doing here? I thought you were at Audio Crash's?"
"He had his own things to do." Black Dawn said. And it wasn't a lie, if Audio Crash wanted to spend all day holed up in his room listening to tapes, who was Black Dawn to intrude?
"Well I'm glad to see you're still playing with your friends. It's healthy for you, and you're happier." Cobra lovingly noted.
"I'm guessing this is your son?" Florina Tart spoke up. "My, what a handsome little colt."
"My pride and joy!" Cobra stated, catching the colt in his wing and dragging him to his side where he was enveloped in a hug. "Isn't he just the cutest thing?"
"Daaaad!" Black Dawn wailed, struggling against his father's firm grasp.
Ink Token chuckled, and Black Dawn blushed. He averted his gaze from the unicorn filly, and stopped squirming.
"Say Dawn," Cobra began, finally releasing his son. "do you think you could help me pick out a cake for your mother? I want to get her something special, but I'm just not sure."
"A layer of whipped cream in the middle wouldn't be a bad idea." Ink Token offered. "Or maybe lemon filling?"
"Oh, now were getting somewhere." Florina commented. "Does she like fruit? We can put some berries as a topping!"
"I think I remember mom saying that she was craving chocolate last night." Black Dawn recalled.
"Those all sound like great ideas!" Cobra Strike exclaimed. "Okay, what if we..."

***

Scarlet Thorn blinked herself awake. Her head felt groggy and it was hard to think. When she fully opened her eyes, she was met with a pair of blue eyes and a striped face.
"Ah good you are finally awake, you had me worried at this rate." The face spoke, backing away.
Now that she was out of her face and into her full vision, Scarlet could see the zebra better. She was typical looking for a zebra, then again the pegasus had only met a hoof-full of other zebras. What set her apart, were the golden rings she wore and the cutiemark of a sun on her flank.
"What happened? How long was I asleep?" Scarlet asked.
"You had been attacked by a soulless foe, a monster which had caused all your woe. As for how long you have slept, into its highest point has the sun leapt." The zebra mare rhymed out.
It wasn't an exact answer, but Scarlet figured the zebra had meant it was somewhere between one to two. "Pardon, Zecora is it, but my dragon friend brought me here. Where is she?"
"Indeed Zecora is my name, and potions of healing is my fame." Zecora introduced herself. "And you must be Scarlet Thorn, at least that is what the one who brought you had sworn. If you are curious about your scaly friend know that she had fallen asleep, for injuries not of her own caused her to weep. And indeed your wounds were truly grave, but with herbal remedies your life I was able to save."
Scarlet Thorn removed the manticore-fur blanket off of her for the first time, and immediately noticed that her lacerations had been cleaned and dressed. Her fore-hoof was in a sling, while her injured hind leg had been placed into a splint and neatly stitched up where the flesh had previously been unfastened. Just by looking she could tell the job had been done with expertise and care.
"I- I don't know what to say Zecora." The pegasus mare sputtered. "Thank you."
"Your gratitude is appreciated but not needed, for it was only your friend's words that I had heeded." Zecora stated. "Come, let us see if she has awoken, I am sure there are words that must be spoken."
The zebra mare offered a hoof out to the pegasus, and Scarlet took it without a second thought. And she was glad she did, because as soon as her hooves touched the floor she nearly fell. While her leg had been patched up, it still flared with pain. She was acutely aware of how she wouldn't be able to run in this state, putting her out of commission until the injury fully healed. The mare frowned.
"Well at least I can stand." Scarlet muttered, beginning to walk forward. It was painful, but not unimaginable. "And I can walk."
Zecora smiled. "Now that you have made it on your feet, perhaps it is time that your friend you greet? Of your health she did have great worry, so much so that she stressed herself into a flurry. To see you I know that she will be relieved, for over your dying had she grieved. The dragon I moved to my chambers above, for she had fallen asleep at your bedside with much love."
The zebra led her up a spiraling stair case carved into the center of the tree, up to a small room where Sound-Off lie sleeping in a comfortable looking bed. The zebra mare stepped aside, allowing Scarlet to pass so that she may walk over to the slumbering reptile. Scarlet trot over to the bedside, and looked at Sound-Off. Even in her sleep the dragoness's face was furrowed into one of worry and stress. But luckily the only harm on her body appeared to be that of emotional.
Scarlet leaned closer to the dragoness. "Sound-Off. Sound-Off. Hey Sound-Off, wake up."
Sound-Off grumbled, shifting a little before sitting up with a yawn. It took a moment for her waking brain to register her surroundings, but as soon as it did the reptile swung around and hugged the mare. "Scarlet! You're alive!"
"Thanks to you and Zecora." The pegasus declared, returning the hug.
"In the face of death your friend had grown rather frantic, it had been hard to do my job through all of her antics." Zecora spoke up, walking over to the duo.
Sound-Off glanced away from the zebra sheepishly. "Sorry."
"There is no need for you to apologize, from what I understand you witnessed your friend almost be cannibalized. But for now let us go down to converse, there is much to talk about when it comes to Equestria's precurse." Zecora versed. "I will gladly tell you what I know, from friends there is no information to stow."

...

Scarlet Thorn and Sound-Off's mouths were left agape by the time the zebra mare finished her explanation.
Sound-Off shook her head in disbelief. "You- you know everything! The Eidolon, Obscures, the Vanished. Even about Grim Noise!"
"But why the Everfree then?" Scarlet Thorn inquired. "This forest seems to be a red zone for Eidolon activity."
"Of the Eidolon there is no need to fear, ancient enchantments of the zebra kind keep them clear. As for the heartless monster known as the Vanished, my masks keep them banished." Zecora gestured to the masks decorating her walls. "And to protect myself from possession, when out of my home a special mask to hide my identity has worked in succession. Of Grim Noise us zebras have known from times of old, thousands of years did we have to hone our talents for what the future withholds." 
Scarlet walked over to the masks Zecora had pointed out, a series of ugly visages with over exaggerated features and fleshy-looking textures. "What do you mean the mask hides your identity?"
"Observe if you will but do not be alarmed," The zebra plucked the mask off of its hook, and walked back over to the spacious living room. "I mean you absolutely no harm."
The pegasus and dragoness looked at each other, and Sound-Off shrugged her shoulders. They turned back to Zecora.
"Go ahead." Scarlet approved.
Zecora smiled and slipped the mask over her face. The zebra mare's body was suddenly enveloped in a black fire not at all unlike a changeling's, engulfing her from hoof to muzzle. A monstrous claw suddenly reached out of the inferno, followed by another and then the rest of a body. Standing in the zebra's place was a Vanished.
Like the Vanished Scarlet Thorn had fought, it was freakishly tall and hunched over to fit into the small hut. Bones stuck out of its back in the reflection of wings, but unlike the other Vanished this monster had a series of sharp spines sticking from its visible spinal column. This Vanished also had long tusks like an elephant, fleshy tendrils sprouting from its side, patches of stretched out torn striped skin, and crimson crystals sprouting from its body instead of wood.
Sound-Off and Scarlet both screamed, the former falling off of her seat and scrambling backwards.
The Vanished opened its jaws and, "My friends please do not be afraid! The illusion before you is only what the mask has made!"
The dragoness crawled over to her seat, and peeked over the edge. "Z- Zecora? Is- is that really you?"
"This vision you see is indeed me." The monster confirmed. "The mask has made me this way so that I may keep the true fiends at bay."
"That's- that's incredible!" The pegasus mare exclaimed, beginning to circle around the disguised zebra. She drank in every detail of the faux monster's body. "Zecora this is beyond extraordinary! Not even the princess herself has such detailed illusions! The things we could learn from this mask!"
Zecora smiled, which was deeply unnerving in her current form. "The technique of creating such a phantasm, derives from a Zebrafrican chasm. There dwells a mage older than the very mountains, a soul rumored to have sought and found the eternal fountain. His magic, talents, and knowledge go unrivaled; to a select few villages, including my own, are his teachings entitled."
"Do you have other masks like this one?" Sound-Off asked. "Something that could turn you into a gryphon, changeling, or even a dragon?"
"Of the masks you describe I indeed have many, zebra kind's infiltration talents are plenty. But do keep in mind that these masks are not the perfect tools, mere mirages are all they can make and the truly perceptive it will not fool." The zebra warned, removing her mask with another flash of fire. "Now if you don't mind me asking, in the Everfree which quest were you tasking? To have fought a Vanished that live so deep, there must be reasons for stakes so steep. To know of Grim Noise and his servants, of your words I have been observant. I have diverged the well kept secret of my masks for your aid, I find it only fair for the debt to be paid."
"We- we can't tell you that." Scarlet Thorn responded guiltily. "We greatly appreciate what you've done for us, please don't get us wrong. But the information you want to know is under strict orders to remain secret."
"About that actually," Sound-Off spoke up. "Scarlet, I think we should ask you know who."
"Are you sure she'd agree Sound-Off?" The pegasus asked.
Sound-Off nodded her head. "Why not? Zecora knows just as much as we do, if not more! Zecora, would you happen to have a parchment and quill?"
"Of those I do have what you are beseeching, for my apprentice Apple Bloom's teachings. I shall fetch them for you, and after a Zebrafrican specialty for our enjoyment I shall brew." The zebra mare promised, leaving the two and returning a moment later with the requested items.
Scarlet watched Zecora leave the room. When she was sure the other mare was out of earshot, the pegasus piped up. "What do you plan on telling Luna?"
"How does this sound?" Sound-Off began to write. "Dear Princess Luna, during our mission Agent Scorpio was severely injured by a Vanished. Luckily, a Zebrafrican shaman by the name of Zecora was able to save her life. Don't worry about Agent Scorpio, Zecora took care of her injuries almost as well as Agent Pisces's healing magic! But it has come to our attention that the zebra in question could become a powerful asset to Z.O.D.I.A.C. as she happens to possess a mask capable of disguising its wearer as a Vanished. Agent Scorpio and I both wish to inform her of the organization, with your permission. Awaiting your response, Agent Capricorn and Agent Scorpio."
"Perfect!" Scarlet declared. "Go ahead and send it."
Sound-Off rolled up the parchment, and with a puff of magical fire sent it on its way. Just as the magical smoke traveled out of an open window, Zecora walked in. She set the platter in her mouth down, and poured some steaming liquid into the cups.
She set the tea pot down. "In my home country this is known as Rooibos which is a drink renowned for its health prosperity, it also helps with one's nerve severity. Traditionally served with lemon and honey, for this many would pay good money."
Sound-Off took her drink black. "Mmmm, this is really good Zecora! Thank you!"
Scarlet squeezed some honey into hers before taking a sip. The mare's eyes widened in surprise. "This is really good!"
"I am glad that with my village's specialty you are pleased, my feelings it does ease." Zecora said with a smile.
"I've actually never had something so- hic!" Sound-Off hiccuped a scroll with a small burst of purple flame.
The pegasus lurched forward and caught the scroll in her hoof. She then opened it, and skimmed over its contents before extending her hoof out to the zebra. "Agent Hydra, I'd like to welcome you to Zeniths of Order Directed by the Institution Against Chaos, or Z.O.D.I.A.C. for short. From now on you will answer to Princess Luna, and only Princess Luna."
The newly appointed Agent Hydra took her hoof. "My services I am more than happy to offer, I gladly accept your proffer. To the lunar princess do I pledge, despite my looks a warrior am I fledged. Assassination in which from a young age I have been trained, old skills am I ecstatic to finally have unrestrained."
"Whoa, an assassin?" Sound-Off let out an impressed whistle. "You wouldn't be happening to be taking apprentices, would you?"
"Apprentice of apothecary I have already, but I will take you on if you promise to keep your lessons steady." Zecora offered, walking over to a large red, green, and blue mask hanging from a nearby wall.
"Ooh, what does that mask do?" Sound-Off eagerly asked.
"Nothing because all it is would be a mask of signifigance that is tribal," The zebra mare answered, removing the mask from its place. "but what lies behind it is the assassin's bible."
Zecora tapped on the wall, and it slid open to reveal a closet. Hanging off of a hook was a white assassin cloak, and next to it a retractable dagger that would slide up a pony's foreleg meant for earth pony usage. The zebra pulled out what appeared to be a staff modeled after a caduceus, only to reveal that it was a swordstick. The zebra flipped the blade outward with a satisfied smirk.
"So cool." Sound-Off gasped.
"It has been far too long since I last drew this blade, but its edge I see is still in top grade." Zecora proudly stated before sheathing her weapon. "But of your quest to me you should divulge, so that in this journey us three can indulge."
Scarlet Thorn cleared her throat. "As I'm sure you're well aware of, three unicorn mares have disappeared from Ponyville. Lyra Heartstrings, Vinyl Scratch, and Lily Lace. Our assignment was to enter the Everfree and retrieve the three mares, and if necessary free them from Eidolon control." The pegasus closed her eyes and exhaled heavily. "We were too late to save Lily Lace."
"Wh- what do you mean?" Sound-Off's face scrunched up into one of confusion.
"Sound-Off. That Vanished we faced? That was Lily Lace. I saw her cutiemark, a pink heart with lavender lace bordering it. We couldn't save her." Scarlet bitterly spat out. "We failed."
The dragoness clenched her fists. "No. No we didn't fail! They're are still two mares out there! We can find them! When I hit Lily Lace the first time with my fire, I cast a tracking spell on her. That's how I was able to find you. If we follow the trail then I just know that we'll find them!"
"Sound-Off you little genius!" The pegasus exclaimed, enveloping the dragoness in a hug.
"Pardon my lack of education in dragon civilization, but how is it that you can cast incantations?" Zecora asked as she swung her cloak over her body and equipped her dagger.
"Well, dragons have an innate magical ability and are able to cast simple spells with our fire. Nothing too fancy. I only know one other spell then the one I used on Lily Lace, the one I use to send letters and other items with. But I'm studying a teleportation type spell. Not many dragons are able to master using their magic," The dragoness proudly said with a smug grin. "but I guess it helped that such a skilled unicorn like Gallant is my patriarch."
"Ah, that does indeed make sense. Now without hesitation let our quest commence. If we are to save Lyra Heartstrings and Vinyl Scratch, we have a monster to catch." Zecora rhymed, gingerly placing some potions into her saddlebags when she caught her companions' curious glances. "Vials of poison and bottles of healing salves and tonics, useful curing wounds which origins are bubonic."
"Oooh. Yeah, that makes sense." Sound-Off said, sliding off of her seat. "Are we ready?"
"There are two things that we lack, and that would be your masks. Trickiness would be the safest means, unless you wish to cause a scene. Luckily of these masks I have enough, of this I do not bluff. These I shall quickly obtain, so that we may end those unicorns' bane." Zecora picked up the mask that had transformed her before walking out of the room to retrieve the other two.
"And what about my scythe?" Scarlet Thorn inquired. "I haven't seen it since I woke up."
Despite the danger they were about to face, Sound-Off chuckled. "You were holding on to it so tightly that I thought we'd never be able to pry it out of your hooves. Zecora actually sharpened it for you. Meet me at the door, I'll go get it for you."
The pegasus mare watched the dragoness run out of the room before getting up herself. She stumbled and staggered, but did her best to maintain a strong gait. Her greatest concern was that her fellow agents would see her as too weak to accomplish the mission. But while she didn't want to slow them down, she didn't want to leave them alone either.
Forcing herself not to limp, which was hard to do with only two functioning legs, Scarlet walked out of the room. She entered Zecora's potion room, passing the bed that she had been sleeping in. On a shelf embedded in the tree's flesh were her clothes, but the fabric was bloodied and too torn to be of much use. Her boots were in a similar state, the left of the pair was worse for the wear. It looked more like a dog's chew toy; she would definitely need to buy a new pair. Ultimately, she decided the only things worth saving were her prized brooch and beloved spiked bracelet. For now she'd have to leave them here.	
Zecora trotted in from another room, carrying with her two more- but very different looking- masks. "I see that you are ready for our quest my friend. Tell me, do you think you're ready given how little time your wounds have had to mend?"
"I can hardly feel the pain." Scarlet lied.
The zebra mare rose an eyebrow, but chose not to say anything about it. "Then if you are ready for our task, here is your mask. The process will be painless I assure, your health will be secure. Now where is Sound-Off? I fear that if we do not leave soon Lyra and Vinyl's lives will be lost."
"Hang on, I'm coming!" The dragoness grunted, dragging Scarlet's scythe. "Ugh, how do you manage to even lift this?! It's so heavy!"
Scarlet walked over to her friend and took the handle in her hoof. Swinging it over her back she pat the dragon on the back. "It's not that heavy. Maybe you should start lifting weights and put more time into strengthening your muscles instead of reading so many tomes."
"Hey, dragons are naturally muscular!" Sound-Off growled.
"Come, it is time to go!" Zecora urged, opening the door and handing Sound-Off her mask as she passed. "It is time we leave my bungalow."
Cautious of the road ahead of them, the two mares and dragoness set off toward the depths of the Everfree.
> In the Garden of Eden (7)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three monsters stalked through the Everfree woods.
The one leading the group was reptilian in origin. Its long tail swished behind it as it walked, and- being covered in tusk-like spikes- forced the other two to keep pace at its side. Large heavily armored wings too big for its body with ragged torn membranes sprouted from its back, along with a series of ebony sharp spikes that begun at its head. Twin antelope horns sprung from the back of its skull, along with blemishes of different colored gems that grew from odd angles all over its slender and elongated frame.
While the second was smaller in comparison, it made up for it with protracted visible teeth. Atop its skinny rotting carcass lie a pair of mangled angel wings, which dragged against the ground and stirred up dirt. Bone protrusions sprouted from its rib cage, as if the bones had been broken and forcibly stuck through its skin. And a broad scythe-like bone decorated the tip of its whip tail. Scraps of white fur hung from its body, swaying in the wind as it walked on.
The third was of a much larger stature than the other two, a grand hulking beast of crystals sporting wickedly sharp tusks and a hyena-like mane. Covered in a natural battle armor of spikes and stone, accompanied with eight tendrils of pink flesh that took root at the boils covering its back, made it quite the frightening foe. Despite its eyes being obscured by chunks of malformed flesh, it turned its head to the other monsters.
"Of many miles we have traveled to our destination, of it is there any indication?" The disguised zebra mare asked.
"We're close." Sound-Off revealed with the nod of her head. "It shouldn't be long now."
There was the sudden cracking sound of branches. The trio's pace faltered, but per Zecora's instructions did not stop moving. 
A Vanished, the transformed Lily Lace, crept out of the forest. In her jaws dangled two unconscious and bloody unicorns. The first was a magenta unicorn mare with a two-toned purple mane. Strips of flesh hung from her body; one large slab on her leg fell to the forest floor. Half of her face had been mauled off, blood trickled slowly but steadily from the attached skin of her exposed skull.  The second was a pink unicorn mare with a two-toned yellow mane. Her neck was broken and yet her chest rose and fell, although raggedly.
Recognizing the ponies as her neighbor and Black Dawn's foalsitter Amethyst Star, and the other as the Canterlot mare Sunshine Smiles, respectively; Scarlet involuntarily gasped.
Lily Lace took quick notice of the gasp, and growled. She galloped in front of the disguised travelers, forcing them to a halt. The Vanished brought herself muzzle to muzzle with a tense Scarlet, and sniffed deeply. The smell of rotting flesh coming from the monster's breath and body was almost unbearable, but the pegasus forced herself to remain still. After what felt like forever but was in reality only seconds, Lily withdrew herself from the mare's face and continued onward. When the three failed to move, she turned to them with a rumbling growl.
The two mares and dragoness looked at each other before following after the Vanished at a fair distance. Eventually, she led them to a cavern and slipped in through the narrow entrance. The opening itself was inconspicuous. Close to the ground and hidden by a veil of overgrown weeds. If a pony had been passing by, they would've had to glance at it from the corner of their eyes in order to see the entrance. Only after waiting until the echo of Lily Lace's hoofsteps faded away did the three speak, but in hushed tones.
"By Luna's blessed moon!" Scarlet Thorn squeaked, letting out a rush of air.
"I admit that was frighteningly close, I thought for sure trouble was to arose." Zecora also sighed in relief. "Although it appears we now have two more to save, the situation has gone from desperate to grave."
"So what do we do? Do we," Sound-Off gulped. "follow it down?"
"It doesn't look like we have a choice." Scarlet stated, starting towards the cavern.
She was stopped by a malformed hoof. "Are you sure that for this battle you are prepared? I worry that my fears will come true for your injuries are not fully repaired."
"Don't worry about me, worry about yourself instead." The pegasus remarked, shrugging off Zecora's hoof. Nopony was going to get hurt under her watch. Especially not because they were protecting her.
Zecora frowned, but then turned her head to the entrance. "Then let us carry on with our heroics, I do hope neither of you are claustrophobic."
The zebra mare led their charge, having had much experience navigating through catacombs. The tunnel was cramped and quickly growing darker the further they strayed from Celestia's beacon of warmth and hope. As the passage steadily grew steeper, it became harder and harder to keep their balance the deeper they went.
"Sound-Off my dear, could you project a light here?" Zecora whispered.
The dragoness nodded her head. "I can do better. I can create a sentinel flame."
"I thought you didn't know any other spells, or on lies do you dwell?" Zecora said with a shake of her head.
"No, no. It isn't a spell. It's just something dragons can make." Sound-Off explained, falling onto her haunches. "Watch."
She blew a stream of fire into her claws. Still releasing flame from her mouth, she began to shape it into a sphere. A moment later she cut off her fire breath and gently tapped the burning ball upwards. It floated above their heads like a miniature sun, illuminating the area within a close proximity to the trio.
"Oh yeah, that's not suspicious in the slightest." Scarlet hissed out.
"Would you rather walk blind?" Sound-Off growled.
"I already almost died once today, I'd rather not tempt death again!" The pegasus retorted.
"And whose fault was that? You're the one that chose to go solo!" The reptile spat.
"I was trying to save your life!"
"What? You think I can't handle myself?"
"You know what? I do! You are a baby dragon!"
"Excuse me?! Are you forgetting who saved your sorry flank?! Don't degrade me down to that level! I'm not completely helpless!"
"I'm sorry, I don't understand baby talk. Here, maybe this will translate to you better. Goo-goo gah-gah."
"Why you ungrateful bit-"
"Enough!" Zecora stepped in, fearing that they would be overheard. "You think you are so tough! Put your pettiness aside! Scarlet you must learn to humble your pride!"
"Ha!" Sound-Off sharply laughed, pointing a claw at the embarrassed pegasus.
Zecora swung around. "And you, emotions you must learn to master if it is my tutelage you are after!"
"Ha!" Scarlet snickered.
"Agents my plot-hole," The zebra finally snapped, crashing their heads together. "you two are acting like foals! Now if you are done, there is still our goal to be won."
"Fine, I'll be the better dragon. I apologize." Sound-Off said, crossing her arms.
"No, I apologize to you." Scarlet offered.
"What? You can't apologize to me after I've apologized to you!"
"I'm admitting my fault. Putting down my pride, just like Zecora said."
"No you're not! You're trying to make yourself look better than me!"
"Oh by my goddess." Zecora put a hoof to her forehead before facing the arguing pair. "Please just make solace!"
Scarlet and Sound-Off looked at each other wearily, but after a glare from Zecora the two shook claw and hoof.
"Good, now let us make haste. With your foalishness time did we waste." The zebra continued down the tunnel. "No use would it be to be so bitter as an unripe oran-AAAAAAAAH!"
The zebra mare suddenly fell into a large pit, her screams quickly fading away.
"Zecora!" The dragoness and pegasus shouted together.
"Oh what do we do?! What do we do?!" Sound-Off began shuffling around as much as the tunnel would allow her.
"We go after her!" Scarlet stated.
"Okay, okay." Sound-Off forced herself to take a deep breath. "We jump on three. One! Two! Three!"
Neither of the two had moved.
"I thought we were jumping on three!" Scarlet exclaimed.
"You didn't jump either!" The reptile ridiculed.
"Fine, I'll count this time." The pegasus said. "Ready? One. Two. Three!"
Again, there wasn't the slightest bit of movement from either.
"What happened?! You were supposed to jump!" Sound-Off reminded.
"Well you didn't!" Scarlet pointed out.
"I have an idea." The dragoness spoke up. "Let's count together."
"Okay, together." Scarlet agreed.
"One. Two. Three!"
The mare jumped into the trench, but Sound-Off stood her ground.
"I'm sorry!" She called out.
"Sound-Off you spineless wall lizaaard! Buuuuck yooooou!" The pegasus mare cursed, slipping into the darkness.
Meanwhile, at the top of the cliff, Sound-Off began to pace. "I can do this. I can do this."
She looked down into the darkness. And then she remembered her wings; the reptile turned to the face them. Even while in the appearance of a Vanished, she was still herself underneath the illusion.
"Oh, yeah. Wings." Sound-Off said with a roll of her eyes. And then she realized that she simply could've flown the mare down, but had instead let her jump to her possible death. "Oh buck! Scarlet, Zecora, I'm coming!"
The dragoness jumped into the air over the pit, and extended her wings out. And then her wings failed her and she plummeted into the darkness below.

...

Scarlet Thorn groaned as she awoke. 
Her entire body ached, but luckily that's all it was. An ache. The pegasus pushed herself up, glancing towards where she had fallen from. She couldn't find the pit, it was too dark; but she guessed by her lack of injury that it hadn't been as much of a fall as she first thought. She coughed. There was an overwhelming odor in the air, it was the worst smell she had ever had the displeasure of knowing in her entire life. And she had changed hundreds of diapers. But she figured since this was the Vanished's lair, combined with the mildew smell of the oubliette itself, that the smell was reflecting the cavern's occupant. Doing her best not to vomit, she started to look around.
Taking in her surroundings, the pegasus began to look for her comrades. But she couldn't see a hoof's length in front of her muzzle. Not wanting to think about what might lie in the darkness surrounding her, the mare steeled her nerves and reached out for her scythe. Luckily, it hadn't fallen far and the mare was able to find it easily. Unluckily, the bitter cold stung at her face and alerted her to the missing presence of her mask. A faint glimmering purple light suddenly caught her eye.
"Sound-Off's sentinel flame!" She realized, beginning to trot as fast as she could over to the welcomed beacon.
She suddenly tripped.
The ground below her had given way to a steep decline. Scarlet picked herself back up. Not only would she have to be careful to not lose her balance on a hill she couldn't see, but the ground itself was mushy with mud. She continued marching hoof deep through the muck, occasionally crunching through gravel and stepping on rocks. Eventually, after much struggle and longer than she would've liked, she made it over to her dragon friend and her waning sentinel flame. There was barely enough light for her to see Sound-Off, but from what she saw the dragon didn't appear to be injured thanks to her hard scales. But what had been damaged, beyond repair to the pegasus's dismay, was Sound-Off's mask.
"Sound-Off! Sound-Off! Sound-Off!" Scarlet urged, shaking the unconscious reptile. When the dragoness failed to respond the mare's heart froze and she immediately feared the worst. She checked her friend's pulse and her fears were confirmed. The mare let out a hiccuping cry. "Oh Sound-Off!"
The mare draped herself over the cold body of her friend and began to weep, which turned into a wail. Scarlet sprang to her hooves and suddenly lashed out in anger at the darkness around her. Swinging her scythe at the invisible demons she began to scream out, "You can't have her! You hear me?! You can't bucking have her!"
Scarlet let out a wrathful cry. Breathing wildly she trotted out into the miasma, and found herself sloshing around in water. Soon enough she was out of the light's range and drowning in the darkness. It felt as if the gloom was bearing down upon her, suffocating her like a constrictor does a mouse. It made her already frozen coat stand on end. But the pain in her heart was greater than her fear, and the guilt of having fought Sound-Off before her death weighed heaviest on the mare's shoulders.
"Show yourself!" She screamed. "You hear me?! I'm not afraid to fight you!"
There was a sudden scuttling sound from the direction of Sound-Off's body. The pegasus roared and galloped over to her friend, completely disregarding the pain flaring in her injured leg. But as she was running, Sound-Off's flame wavered and finally went out.
"NO!" Scarlet screamed. "NO! NO! NO!"
She arrived at what she approximated was the location of her friend's corpse. Throwing herself into the foul smelling sludge, she desperately began feeling around for the reptile. Her hooves found only mud. The mare's breathing turned eradicated, and she began to stomp and buck in the slush until she finally collapsed.
Something slimy firmly grabbed her fetlock. Scarlet didn't care. She wanted to die. But then her thoughts suddenly turned to her son. No. No she did not want to die. She wanted to live. For Black Dawn. For Cobra Strike. For Princess Luna. For Sound-Off. The pegasus tightened her grip on her scythe, swinging it around to meet her foe.
"Whoa!" A familiar voice called out from the darkness. "What in Tartarus?! It's me, it's me!"
"Sound-Off!" Scarlet Thorn cried out, dropping her scythe and lunging forward to catch the dragoness in a tackling hug that knocked them into the water. "You're alive!"
"Yeah. I'm- uh- pretty sure that I am." Sound-Off groaned out as the pegasus mare squeezed her.
"But you were- Your pulse was- You were cold and you had no pulse!" Scarlet stuttered out.
"Well yeah. It's like thirty degrees down here in case you haven't noticed. Plus, us dragons are naturally cold. We are cold-blooded. And you wouldn't have been able to find my pulse underneath my scales." Sound-Off explained, and then grunted when the mare tightened her hug. "Scarlet, too much!"
Scarlet released the dragoness. "S- sorry. I'm just so happy that you're alive."
"Yeah, me too. Hey, do you know how far we fell?" Sound-Off asked.
"I don't think it was too long, but I landed on a hill so I wouldn't know." Scarlet answered.
"I'm guessing from the lack of rhymes that Zecora isn't with you." Sound-Off noted.
"It's too dark to see. I had to follow your flame to find you." Scarlet said.
"Oh, give me a moment." Sound-Off blew out a small stream of fire, and began to form it into a flame sentinel that was larger than the last. Not long after they had a large sphere of fire that floated high above their heads illuminating a large portion of the cavern.
The first thing Scarlet noticed was that they were standing in a shallow lake of red, and absolutely drenched. The second was her friend's horrified gaze.
The dragoness's lips began to quiver, and her pupils were nothing more than pinpricks. "Sc- Sc- Scarlet."
"Sound-Off? Sound-Off what's wrong?" She asked.
The dragoness weakly pointed behind the mare.
Scarlet turned around, and her legs went weak. The 'hill' that had cushioned her fall and that she had awoken upon, while indeed being a hill, was a colossal pile of corpses. And not just ponies. She recognized pieces of gryphons, changelings, minotaurs, creatures of the Everfree, and many others she couldn't name. A knot of twisted limbs, splayed out organs, and rotting flesh. The dead eyes seemed to stare accusingly at her. As if asking, "Why didn't you save us? How could you let this happen?"
She looked down at her hooves, at the liquid she was knee deep in while Sound-Off practically had to swim through. Blood. It was blood. Not water. Blood. The blood of all those creatures she had failed. Those whose bones had crunched underneath her hoof under the assumption that it had been gravel. Those whose skulls she had mistaken for rocks. Those whose flesh she had thrown herself upon. 
Scarlet vomited.
A sudden approaching sloshing demanded their attention. The mare and dragoness turned to find something approaching them from the darkness. Sound-Off readied her fire, and Scarlet her blade.
Zecora appeared out of the darkness. As soon as the zebra mare saw them she began to gallop towards them.
Sound-Off relaxed, but her pegasus companion failed to do so. "Scarlet? What's wrong? Scarlet it's Zecora!"
"We don't know that." Scarlet stated, her serious composure unchanging. "Look. She's not wearing her mask. She could have been possessed by an Eidolon."
"What?! Are you sure?!" Sound-Off asked, taking an involuntary step back.
"No. But better safe than sorry" The mare admitted before shouting, "STOP!"
The galloping zebra skidded to a halt, a confused look on her face.
If it was Zecora in front of them, she spoke out, "My friends what is wrong? Why do you hold out a blade against me when I have been searching for you for so long?"
"Tell us something only Zecora would know!" Scarlet demanded.
"Yeah!" The dragoness awkwardly called out from behind the pony.
"You have ten seconds to answer." Scarlet growled. "Ten. Nine. Eight."
"Wait, wait! Allow me an answer to state!" Zecora pleaded. "Of your injuries I did heal, and to you my secrets I did reveal! I told you of how assassin's training I did under go, then the name Agent Hydra upon me did Luna bestow! But not long after I fell into this pit, where in darkness I had to use my wit! Not knowing where for you to look, a risky gamble I took! Then when I heard your yelling, I traced it back to this dwelling!"
Scarlet narrowed her eyes, and then lowered her scythe with a smirk. "Sorry about that Zecora. I needed to make sure you hadn't been possessed."
"Of this I can promise is not the case, but still be weary for we are in the lair of Lily Lace." The zebra warned, trotting over to them.
"Don't move another muscle!" Sound-Off suddenly shouted. Zecora stopped and Sound-Off continued. "How come you're not concerned about the bodies behind us?"
"As an assassin in my life much carnage I have seen, starting at when I watched my own tribe mates be slaughtered when I was a teen. In Zebrafrica such horrendous acts are not uncommon, so I am use to seeing corpses long since forgotten." Zecora answered.
"Eh, good enough for me." The dragoness said.
"Nice catch." Scarlet Thorn whispered.
Sound-Off beamed with pride.
"Come my friends and I will show you of what I have learned, I believe it will be of much concern. In these catacombs do the Vanished thrive, I fear that we have stumbled upon their hive." Zecora stated.
"A hive?!" Sound-Off exclaimed. "You mean we're completely surrounded and outnumbered here?!"
"How can you be sure?! Did you see other Vanished?!" Scarlet demanded.
"Indeed along my path I saw many monsters, who luckily did not see that I am an impostor. Although they have proven to be quite frightening, it would appear that their minds lack enlightening." Zecora explained. "They are as intelligent as mere beasts, but luckily near the entrance here there are the least. Deeper into the darkness do they lurk, but still stay vigilant through the murk. Without a doubt monsters we shall happen upon, but if we are careful their attention will not be drawn."
"But what about our masks?" Sound-Off asked. "Won't we get noticed? 
"Of these masks I have no more, my own is the last of the score." Zecora stated. "But it would appear that in shadows even the Vanished cannot see, of this I do decree. With sense of hearing and sense of smell they must command, but covered in blood we have the upper hand."
"So in a sense, we have the advantage." Scarlet realized, and then she turned to Sound-Off. "Is it possible for you to use your tracking spell in reverse, making it so our location could be traced?"
"I- I guess so." The dragoness answered, still in shock.
"Would it be possible for you to send a letter to Princess Luna? One that would alert her of our location?" The pegasus inquired.
"Y- yeah!" Sound-Off stuttered out, catching on. Then she frowned. "But I don't have any paper or a quill. Zecora?"
Zecora shook her head. "Those items I didn't think to bring, I did not think we would be faced with such troublesome things."
"Damn it. What are we supposed to do?" Scarlet muttered. She glanced around for something they could write with, and her eyes came to stop on the heap of corpses. The pegasus gulped, but she knew what she had to do.
"Scarlet, what are you doing?" Sound-Off asked, watching the mare trot over to the base of the hill.
"Please don't ask." Scarlet pleaded, steadying her stomach for the sin she was about to commit.
"Scarlet?" Sound-Off asked again, sounding much more unsure.
Searching for a corpse that wasn't absolutely saturated with gore, the mare eventually came to find a fellow pegasus. Closing her eyes, Scarlet lifted her scythe high above her head. "Luna forgive me."
"Scarlet what are you doing?!" The dragoness yelled.
The blade suddenly plunged into the cadaver's flesh, slicing cleanly through the other side. With a series of gagging croaks the pegasus pulled the mutilated corpse over to her. Tears leaked from her eyes as she repeatedly whispered, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
When she had finished, the pony had carved out a a good sized portion of the carcass's lilac hide. Scarlet then tore free a mangled primary feather from the mutilated pegasus's disfigured wing. She walked over to Sound-Off, and wordlessly held the patch of fur out to her.
The reptile shakily reached for the slab of meat, freezing when it touched her claws.
Of course being a dragon she had eaten meat before, but that was cooked beforehoof. And she had never actually asked where it had come from, it wasn't something she wanted to know. Most of Ponyville's residents thought she was disgusting for it, including the other residential dragon Spike. Only her own patriarch Gallant and the other patrons of Ponyville's newly opened omnivore restaurant were sympathetic. To this day Sound-Off couldn't look a cow in the eyes without feeling an incredible amount of shame and guilt, and even a little bit of hunger. But she couldn't help it. She was a dragon. And being female she craved meat especially.
But this, this was different. This wasn't fish, pork, chicken, lamb, or even cow. This was pony flesh. She had been raised by a pony, the only parent that she had ever known. Sound-Off began to hyperventilate.
A steady hoof reached out to the reptile, keeping a calming presence on her shoulder. Zecora looked down at the little one with a kind yet sad smile. "I am all too aware of the feelings you endear, but know that your friends are here."
The dragoness's breathing slowly went from ragged to deep, and then to an even pace as she closed her eyes and steadied her mind. "Okay."
With a deep inhale she held out the fleshy chunk in front of her, as far as her arm would allow, and breathed out a bloom of fire that quickly spread over the skin. The fur began to rapidly tan, the heat melting away at fat and rotted meat. Soon the fire flickered away, leaving just a piece of jagged hardened leather behind.
"Here." Scarlet rasped in a hoarse voice. She handed the reptile the makeshift quill.
Sound-Off took the crimson stained feather. Dipping it in the blood around her waist, she began to write.


Dear Princess Luna,
Agent Scorpio, Agent Hydra, and I have made an alarming discovery. Within the Everfree forest lies a Vanished hive.
I am sending this letter to you with a draconian tracking spell meant to alert you of our present whereabouts. Will send more information as soon as we're in a safe location. Please respond soon.


She paused, glancing at her friends who were distracted with their own thoughts. And then hastily added,


If we don't return tell Gallant that he was the best father I could've asked for. And tell Black Dawn that his mother loves him very much.
Sincerely,
Agent Capricorn. Agent Scorpio. Agent Hydra.


The dragoness then deeply inhaled, exhaling with a plume of purple flame. The glittering faintly lavender tinted smoke traversed over the mountain of bodies, and up the hole that they had fallen through.
"Let's go." Sound-Off unemotionally stated. If she felt this bad, she could only hope to imagine how awful her pegasus companion must've felt.
Agent Scorpio was cruel, yes. But she was only heartless towards her enemies. For her fellow ponies and other innocents, she would give her life. There was a great difference between the scorpion and the mare, one defined by a trail of blood. But what they both shared was the desire to protect others from harm.
The mare in question didn't say anything. She was dealing with her own demons right now.
Zecora suddenly cleared her throat. "The path ahead is quite grisly, a fact I know for my light did show although dimly." The zebra mare pulled a glowing crystal out from underneath her cloak. "Of many of these Luminous Gems did I bring, but of brightness it is not king. Still it will draw less attention than your fire, which I would put out unless being noticed is what you desire."
The zebra handed each of them their own Luminous shards, which they slipped over their heads. 
"I'll be right back." Sound-Off stated, unfurling her wings.
Zecora stopped her. "In these chambers your wings will fail, the walls that you see for magic acts like a jail. Your fire works only because it is linked to an outside source, at least that is my guess of course."
"This must be where Queen Chrysalis's throne originated from." Scarlet mentioned, slightly fascinated with the aspect. "No magic works here. Your wings must not work because that magic is your own, but your fire breath is tied in with Gallant's own magic. Sort of like a battery."
"If it's like a battery how much energy do you think I have left?" The dragoness asked in concern.
"From what you took for the two fire orbs plus the tracking spell, to save your magic would do you well." Zecora warned. "But about that flame in the sky, how do you plan to say good-bye?"
Sound-Off thought for a moment, and then decided, "Well if I had an arrow I could just shoot it down."
"My friend say no more, I have with me what you are looking for." Zecora pulled out from somewhere within her cloak a crossbow. "As you can tell from the straps it is meant for earth pony use, but in this situation it will work I deduce."
The dragoness took the crossbow from the zebra, and pointed it at her sentinel flame. "Sorry, but you've got to go." 
She let the bolt loose with a squeeze of the trigger. It flew straight and true, hitting its mark and plunging the cavern into total darkness excluding the dim twinkling glow from the Luminous Gems around their necks.
"Great shot!" Scarlet commended, giving the dragon a pat on the back.
"Of your skill I am impressed, to have you wanting to be my apprentice I am blessed." Zecora remarked.
"Hehe, thanks." Sound-Off blushed in pride. She had actually been learning how to use a crossbow from Agent Sagittarius.
"Now let us be on our way, before in the darkness we become prey." Zecora said, putting on her mask with a flash of dark fire. "To me you should still keep near, it will help with their unknowing of you here."
The reunited trio began to trek onward, flanking the disguised zebra as she led them deeper into the catacombs. 

***

Celestia and Luna were sipping tea on the royal balcony. Ever since Starlight Glimmer had switched their cutiemarks and shown them just how hard the other worked, the two royal sisters had grown closer than ever.
"Say Lulu," Celestia began, taking a bite of her cake. "where has that lovely and charming apprentice of yours run off to?"
"Gallant Aurora? Training more than likely." Luna answered.
"Well I suppose everypony is different. Twilight had her books, Gallant has his swords." The solar princess chuckled. "Reminds me of how we were in our youth. Do you remember those days?"
"I remember," Luna snickered. "that you couldn't wield a blade if your life had depended on it."
"And I remember," Celestia chuckled. "a little filly who couldn't sit through more than a single paragraph of reading."
Luna shoved a chunk of cake into her mouth, finishing her plate. Speaking through a mouthful of pastry, she said, "It was boring Tia. Who cares about the long lost civilization of Ponyland? What a silly name for a country to have, it's no wonder they disappeared."
Celestia rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean we shouldn't honor and respect our ancestors who did escape, and eventually formed the three grand nations under their descendants Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, and Commander Hurricane. Without them Equestria wouldn't exist."
"Meh." Luna grunted, bored already.
"Anyways, would you like another piece of cake Lulu?" Celestia asked her blue-furred sister, offering a chocolate coated slice of vanilla goodness to the smaller alicorn in an aura of yellow-gold magic.
"I will indeed take thine offer for a slice of cavity inducing pastry." Luna answered, floating her empty plate over to the  older white alicorn in an aura of her own purplish-blue magic. "You know Tia, in over thousand years that pallet of yours hath not changed."
"What?" Celestia let out a good-natured scoff as she placed the cake slice on Luna's plate. "Am I not allowed to enjoy myself? I think as royalty I deserve ten minutes a day to spoil myself."
"Careful sister." Luna warned. "You're beginning to sound like Blueblood. Where is thy nephew of ours anyways? I don't think I've seen him since last year's Grand Galloping Gala, and I don't recall him being at Twilight's coronation."
"Well," Celestia began, sipping her tea. "I thought that he was lacking a little lesson in friendship. After he utterly failed the lesson Twilight and her friends were willing to give him those three galas ago, I decided that perhaps he'd like to try his hoof at diplomacy."
"Diplomacy?" Luna blinked. "Which government branch hath you put him in charge of? And how is it that Equestria is still standing?"
"Oh? I didn't send him to our government." The taller alicorn calmly clarified. "I thought he may have gotten bored of Equestria, so I placed him in foreign affairs."
"Really? Which country did you send him to?" Luna inquired.
"Gryphonia." Celestia answered.
Luna spat out her tea. "YOU SENT HIM WHERE?!"
"Don't worry sister. He is under the protection of the Equestrian government for forty moons." Celestia assured.
"And exactly how long ago did you send him?" Luna asked, unconvinced.
"Oh about," Celestia's eyes rolled up in thought, she took another long sip from her teacup. "forty moons ago as of today. I'll have to renew his protection. I suppose that I'll have to get around to it before the day is over, eventually."
"Sister," Luna was about to say something else when a letter suddenly materialized in front of her with a puff of purple flame. The heavy slab of leather dropped onto the table below with a whump.
This time Celestia spit out her tea. "What the buck Luna?! I told you we don't use leather anymore!"
"Oh, I, um, I've- Oh look, it's time for me to go wash thine royal mane. Silly me." Luna excused herself, picking up the leather in her magic.
"Luna get back here!" Celestia demanded.
"I can't ignore thy mane washing sister, hygiene is important after all." Luna called back as she quickly walked away.
"We are not done talking about this!" Celestia yelled after her. "Do you understand me?! And that mane better be clean when we do!"
"Of course, we shall discuss thy matter later!" Luna promised.
As soon as she was out of the solar princess's view Luna broke from a trot to a gallop, heading straight for her royal chambers. She barreled past one of their servants, knocking the poor pony to the ground.
"Hey!" The maid called out.
"My apologies loyal subject " Luna called back.
A few minutes later the lunar princess locked herself in her room. She began to go over Sound-Off's letter, her eyes widening in fear and worry. She quickly cast a detection spell over the parchment, but couldn't find the tracking spell the dragoness had placed on it. She tried again with a larger detection spell meant for revealing traps, but there was no telekinetic ping. Holding back a panic she tried once more, casting the spell at an even larger radius. Nothing. There was nothing. Her friends and agents were in trouble, and there was nothing she could do without at least first knowing their location. Why was her spell failing?
Luna went over the letter again and discovered why. The spell was cast by draconian magic. Her alicorn magic couldn't properly link to it. Despite all her years of living, the lunar princess knew next to nothing about draconian magic. And without at least a faint understanding of its rules, there was nothing she could do to activate Sound-Off's spell. But there was somepony who could. Agent Leo.
The alicorn rushed over to her desk drawer, dumping its contents over the floor. She scurried to pickup a freshly torn parchment, a trampled quill, and a spilling ink bottle. Leaving the rest of the mess on the floor, she hastily scribbled out a request for Agent Leo to translate the draconian spell, and- using the Manifesto copy spell Starlight had sent to her in one of their frequently exchanged letters- copied the leather Sound-Off had sent her. Then she channeled her magic into her horn and sent the letter on its way. But Agent Leo was with Agent Gemini on a mission across the sea in Cengoyle, dealing with a group of dragons not under Ember's reign. There was no telling how long it would be until she received a response.
She sent out a telepathic call to her personal protegee, summoning him to her side. While Celestia had to write out letters to Twilight, Luna was a master of mindscape magic because of her ability to dream-walk and thus was able to communicate telepathically. But this ability only applied to those who were willing to link their minds with her own, and the strain it placed on the alicorn's body was nothing less then excruciating. It required a constant feeding of her magic to keep the spell active for each pony connected to her; missing a thousand years of experience didn't make it any easier either. As such Luna had only linked her mind with two ponies, Gallant and her own sister Celestia.
There was a loud but polite knocking, and the blue alicorn realized that her apprentice must've teleported himself to her door. She quickly cast a soundproofing spell over the room and trot over to alert him of the situation. If anypony other than Agent Leo could decipher the spell, it was her magically-gifted Gallant.

***

Zecora continued to lead Sound-Off and Scarlet Thorn through the labyrinth of tunnels, having marked her path with small etchings made by her dagger into the stone walls. Luckily their path had remained clear with only a close few encounters; every once in a while they had stumbled across a Vanished, which they only happened to cross paths with from a distance and the monster would trot onward without so much as even a waning glance in their direction.
Every few yards they came across another corpse fastened to the cavern by boil encrusted black roots sprouting out of their eye sockets and growing from their barrels. Some were nothing more than crumbling bone, but it appeared that the deeper they went the fresher the dead. At this point, they had reached bodies that were half decomposed. 
Their dead flesh was alive with maggots, enough of them to cause their skin to dance as they ate away at the rotting innards. They squirmed visibly from inside of the portions of the cadavers that had been eaten hollow, a pile of yellow wriggling bodies scrambling over each other in a race to see which would get back into the flesh the fastest. A heap of maggots swarmed in the empty eye sockets of a corpse hanging close to Scarlet, dropping in a steady stream to the ground below.
The pegasus mare retched, but nothing came up.
"Are we almost there?" Sound-Off asked, pressing herself against Scarlet's blood-matted fur and as far from the maggot-eaten corpses as possible.
"Not much further will we have to venture, we have almost reached the sought for indenture. I know that in these tunnels you must feel discomfort, but I promise not much longer you will have to suffer." Zecora answered. "For now just keep quiet, so that we may avoid causing a riot."
The dragoness shut her mouth.
They continued on in silence down the tunnels for a while, none daring to even breathe loudly. The strung-up carcasses on the walls now had eyes, blank mirrors which followed their every move. Maggots slid out from underneath the deflating orbs; it was almost as if the corpses were weeping for the trio.
Zecora suddenly stopped and pointed at a misshapen cavity radiating with a dark purple light in the cavern's surface. Motioning for her comrades to slowly follow, the zebra dragged herself towards the entrance.
The two crept up behind her, practically riding her rump. Peeking out from behind the faux Vanished, the two glanced into the cavern chamber which was illuminated by clusters of black crystals.
From within the relatively small hollow lie Lily Lace. She was on her belly, and cradling in her hooves a still very much unconscious Sunshine Smiles. She opened her mouth, but instead of guzzling down the unicorn's flesh the Vanished began to gingerly lick the mare's body. Running her tongue along Sunshine's split open back, Lily began to clean the wound. The gesture was almost lovingly done.
At the Vanished's side huddled Amethyst Star. The mare appeared to be carefully groomed, her coat free from muck. The visible portion of her skull had been licked clean of blood, and the strips of flesh that had been hanging from her body were missing. Her chest rose and fell evenly, as if she had fallen asleep peacefully in her own bed.
It felt like forever for Lily to finish grooming her cousin. But when she did she angled the mare's head up and expelled her stomach's contents into the unicorn's mouth; chunks of half digested meat and Discord knows what else were forced into Sunshine's gullet. The Vanished finished with a gagging cry, like a cat hacking up a hairball. Then she gently picked up the two mares in her mouth, and exited the chamber. 
Zecora quickly pushed Sound-Off and Scarlet against the wall behind her, shielding them with her hulking form. The pegasus was unfortunately pressed against a corpse. She forced herself not to scream as maggots fell onto her back, sliding down to her rear and more than likely getting caught in her knotted and blood-clumped tail.
Scarlet wasn't here. She was with Cobra Strike. Lying in their comfortable cloud bed, cuddled up against his chest with his wing around her and reading her favorite book. Definitely not in a nightmarish underground cavern with live maggots caught in her tail. What sane pony would be doing that?
Lily growled lowly as she approached Zecora, tensing as she observed the disguised mare. The zebra did the only thing she could think of, she growled back. Releasing the most ferocious and unpony-like snarl she could manage, Zecora let out  a roar. The Vanished's ears actually folded back in surprise and fear. Lily wearily slid away from the zebra, eyes never leaving the assassin until she had faded away into the darkness.
Finally Scarlet couldn't take it anymore and leapt out from behind Zecora. She began to writhe around, attempting to shake the worms from her body. Sound-Off rushed to her aid, blowing a flame that engulfed the mare. The fire left the pony untouched, but torched the maggots from her fur and tail.
"Thank. You." The pegasus panted as the flames sputtered out.
"Yeah, no problem." Sound-Off agreed, wanting to envelop her own body in a cleansing flame but choosing instead to reserve her fire.
"What an interesting means  for one to take a bath, but now we should continue down the path. We must follow Lily Lace, before she disappears without a trace." Zecora stated, beginning down the tunnel.
Scarlet followed after, and Sound-Off subsequently pursued behind. 
Soon they reached a fork in the cavern shaft. The dragoness walked over to the tunnel on the left. As she drew closer her light revealed a thirteen-foot tall wall of corpses jammed almost up to the ceiling, leaving only a narrow opening atop only four-feet in diameter and three-feet height-wise. The dragoness quickly backed away in horror.
"Sound-Off, what is-" Scarlet trot up into the light and gagged. "By Luna's blessed moon!"
Steadying herself, the pegasus shakily walked over to the tunnel on the right. It was large enough for the trio to walk side by side in, with plenty of space to spare. And better yet her eyes could spot no corpses along the walls or floor, only good old fashioned stone.
"We should take the right one!" Sound-Off suggested, and the pegasus nodded her head in agreement.
"Of that I must disagree, the safer path is never what it appears to be." Zecora walked over to the right tunnel, pulling out a bottle of swirling green potion from her pack. She then chucked the bottle into the tunnel, where it could be heard shattering. A moment later there was a heavy thud as something hit the ground. The zebra then threw a Luminous Gem in after, revealing a dead Vanished foaming wildly from the mouth that had fallen from the ceiling. "As you can see we have just escaped a violent battle, it is of our best interest to take the road less traveled."
The two stared at the zebra in shock, until Scarlet recollected herself. "What exactly did you throw at it?"
"Contained in that vial was a deadly gas, an airborne poison of the highest class. However with me I only brought two, now I am left with one after showing you." The zebra took off her mask and slipped it into her bag before trotting over to the left tunnel. "I know this path is not what you yearn, so I will take the first turn."
Zecora nimbly bounded up the corpse wall, using outstretched limbs like steps to get to the top. As she crawled into the tunnel she motioned for her companions to follow.
Scarlet and Sound-Off looked at each other.
"Fine." The dragoness grumbled.
She followed after the zebra, pulling herself from one flesh branch to the next. A piece of meat in her claw begun to suddenly come loose little past halfway to the top, and when the rotting skin slipped from the bone the reptile plummeted with it. She was caught before she could fall.
Scarlet smiled from underneath her friend, having turned the flat side of her scythe into a make-shift platform. Sound-Off smiled back in gratitude and relief before finishing her climb. Being small enough to turn around in the tunnel, the dragoness extended out a claw to the pony and helped pull her up.
For the next fifteen minutes or so the trio continued through the passage, crawling over the carcasses. It was worse than uncomfortable, and the smell of decay was overpowering. But they didn't have the luxury to rest. The dead flesh was already sinking downward from the abuse of their weight. It didn't help that they were forced to move slowly to avoid scratching themselves on broken bones that stuck up from the carcasses on top.
Scarlet's bad leg suddenly slipped into the rotting sludge.
With a grunt she tried to kick herself forward, only to find that she couldn't move. Choking back her panic, she cried out in alarm, "Sound-Off! Zecora! I'm stuck!"
"Hang on!" Sound-off crawled over to her and grabbed ahold of her fore-hoof.
Digging her heels into the flesh of the dead, she tried to pull the mare free. But her claws were slippery from rot and gore, and she fell back onto her rump.
"Sound-Off, please!" Scarlet begged, feeling her body being sucked slowly downward by the oozing corpses and the weight of her splint.
"Quickly, grab on to my tail! I will help assure that you do not fail!" Zecora ordered.
The dragoness obeyed, grabbing firmly onto the zebra mare's short tail and keeping one claw secured around the pegasus's hoof.
Zecora began to drag herself forwards, straining herself from the great increase in weight. Still, the zebra puffed onward.
"It's working!" Sound-Off exclaimed, slowly but surely pulling Scarlet free.
A weak bone suddenly snapped underneath the pegasus, ripping the reptile's claw from her hoof and ultimately causing her to completely slip into the pile of death.
She opened her mouth in surprise, but before she could get out more then a squeak the decayed flesh of the carcasses slid into her mouth.
The taste was beyond awful. But there was nothing the mare could do about the rancid meat sliding down her throat, but to clamp her mouth shut. Her Luminose Gem illuminated the corpses surrounding her in horrid detail. She found herself face to face with a decayed pony, its eyeless sockets glaring at her and its mouth screaming. From its broken horn she could tell it had once been a unicorn, and all of its skin had rotted away leaving behind just a red husk. She was drowning in a sea of death.
"I've got you!"
Scarlet suddenly felt a sudden yank at her mane, followed by a burning pain on her scalp as the hair was jerked almost from her head. She was whisked out of the corpse pile a moment later.
"I cannot see! Is she free?" Zecora asked.
"Yeah, I have her." Sound-Off answered, letting out a sigh of relief.
The trembling pegasus collapsed onto her sour belly, unwilling to move anymore. To describe the bitter and acrid taste in her mouth and the feelings she was experiencing, there were no words.
Hearing the mare' s rapidly intensifying breathing, the dragoness reached out to her.
"I- I- I- Ev- everywhere- It- it was in my- my mou- mouth." Scarlet barely managed to stutter out.
"It's okay, it's okay." Sound-Off soothed, shaking just as much as her friend but putting on a false bravado for her sake.
"Come, we have almost reached the exit. I can see the end of this cesspit." Zecora called back.
"You heard her, let's go." Sound-Off tugged on the mare's hoof.
Scarlet didn't move.
"We need to keep going." The dragoness gently urged.
There was still no signs of movement from the pegasus other than her incessant shivering.
"Come on!" Sound-Off yanked on her fore-leg, attempting to drag her forward. "Just! Move!"
Finally the walls Agent Scorpio had built around her crumbled and crashed.
The mare begun to break down then and there, her mind having had enough. She began to laugh like mad, her sanity hanging by a thread.
Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this- this hell? She was a good pony. No, it was Luna's fault. The damnable princess had done this to her. Luna had made the pony into her slave. Carelessly tossing her agents' lives about while she sat there eating chocolate truffles from her throne. When's the last time the princess had actually helped? Definitely not when Discord returned. Not when Chrysalis had almost taken over Canterlot. Not when Sombra returned and threatened her country. Not when Tirek almost destroyed Equestria as they knew it. No. Luna hadn't been there at all. And here Scarlet, Sound-Off, and Zecora were- caught in some Faust-forsaken hellhole- and yet there still was no help from Luna. She hadn't even bothered to send them back a single lousy word.
"Scarlet! Scarlet!" Sound-Off cried out in alarm, shaking the mare.
"It's all a lie!" Scarlet Thorn suddenly yelled out. "It's all just an excuse for Luna to keep her pretty little hooves free of blood! Do you even know all the things I've had to do?! Do you even know what I have lost?! All those Vanished I've killed, they were once ponies too! Luna could have saved them! She could have done something about Grim Noise from the beginning! She could have saved her! She's an all powerful alicorn who can control the very moon and stars above, and yet she can't save one measly little life?! She's a coward! A worthless coward!"
The pegasus's voice echoed throughout the tunnel, carrying down into the caverns depths.
"She is being too loud, and had broken our shroud!" Zecora shouted as the tunnel began to shake.
From behind them a Vanished heaved itself into the entrance, snarling rapidly. Like a snake it slid into the corpse filled passageway, quickly clawing after them.
"SCARLET WE NEED TO MOVE, NOW!" Sound-Off cried out, desperately tugging at the pony.
"Why?! So Princess Luna can toy around with us some more?!" Scarlet bitterly yelled.
"SCARLET WE ARE GOING TO DIE!" Sound-Off screamed into the mare's ear. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE! IF YOU WON'T MOVE FOR LUNA THEN DO IT FOR YOUR FAMILY!"
That snapped the pegasus's mind into the right place. "Wh- what am I doing?! Go! Go!"
"Glad to have you back!" The dragoness yelled, spinning around and quickly crawling over the bodies.
The Vanished surged after them, quickly gaining ground.
"HURRY!" Zecora shouted. "PUSH YOURSELF THROUGH THE SLURRY!"
The trio scrambled forward, pushing on as fast as they could through the tunnel. Zecora was the first to jump out to the other side, and Sound-Off followed not long after. Scarlet could see her friends' lights at the end of the passage, and had almost made it when she felt a sharp sting atop her flank.
The Vanished had grabbed ahold of her tail, and was beginning to drag her back.
The mare kicked out at the monster's claw with all her might, hearing the satisfying crunch of bone- but losing a chunk of her tail in the process- she freed herself from the squealing Vanished.
Scarlet fell to the ground outside of the tunnel, landing on her bloodied belly- which had been scratched by sharp bones- causing the pain in her ribs to flare.
"BACK, BACK I SAY! THIS MARE WILL LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY!" Zecora roared, throwing an orange potion into the tunnel.
There was a moment of silence before the ground shook from the powerful, but small, explosion.
The tunnel began to crumble in on itself, trapping the Vanished behind a lair of rocks.
"Was that a bomb?!" Sound-Off exclaimed. "You're carrying bombs too?!"
The zebra gave her a surprisingly malicious smile. "Poison, blades, and bombs; using these I have no qualms. But better to use them to save my friend, who else would've met a gruesome end. Scarlet my dear are you alright? You gave us both quite the fright."
"F- fine." Scarlet grunted as she forced herself onto her hooves. "A little worse for the wear, but I don't think anything is broken."
"I am happy to hear that there is no reason to fret, but our journey is not over yet. With that explosion foes we have alerted, no longer shall we find our path deserted." The zebra versed, starting down the passage depths. "My theory will not need proving, the three of us should get moving."
"Can you walk?" Sound-Off asked her white-coated friend.
"Y- yeah." The pegasus groaned, although every step that she took shot a jolt of pain through her body. Nonetheless, she managed to catch up to the zebra. "Let's go Sound-Off. Zecora, put on you mask. It would be for the best if we continued to hide behind you."
Zecora nodded her head, reaching into her bag for her mask. But then her eyebrows furrowed in concern. "I am afraid that there has been a complication, from crawling in tunnels my mask is suffering from deformation."
The zebra pulled out her mask. There was a long jagged crack in the leather surface, and the mask had begun to split down the middle. She put the ugly visage back in her bag with a sullen look.
"What are we going to do?" Sound-Off asked. "Without our masks we're completely vulnerable! The only reason we've even made this far was because they thought you were another monster!"
"We're not completely vulnerable." Scarlet piped, wincing slightly. "Zecora has all of her weapons. And I have my scythe."
"Fine then. You're not vulnerable, but look at me! I can't fly and I only have a limited amount of firepower!" The dragoness stated.
"Of this you are being senseless, you are not completely defenseless." Zecora pointed at the crossbow strapped to the reptile's arm. "If more bolts you need just ask, I have brought plenty to last."
Sound-Off fumbled to catch the sack the striped assassin tossed at her. But once she had, she opened the bag and swiftly loaded the crossbow before tying the drawstring sack around her shoulders.
"Thanks."
The three continued in silence, forming an arrowhead as they walked. A protective formation in which they were able to guard each other's backs. The sudden thundering of heavy hoof falls came thudding from within the darkness ahead of them. Zecora dove into a group of large stalagmites, and her companions were quick to follow suit. They hid their lights, seeing only by the dark light of the cavern's crystal growths.
Five Vanished came galloping out of the darkness. They were all of different sizes and statures, the only thing in common being their slender builds and drawn out bodies. The Vanished leading the charge, resembling more so a gryphon because of the ebony feathers sprouting from its neck upward and its savage looking hooked beak, stopped. It smelled the air around it, sensing that something was off. The other monsters behind it pawed at the ground, as if unsure what to do. Finally the lead Vanished let out a series of disfigured squawking, to which the other four Vanished responded with deep-throated clickings.
The four split into pairs; the first two took the path Zecora, Sound-Off, and Scarlet had come from, while the other team galloped off into a narrow tunnel opposing the hidden agents. Their leader chose to stay behind. It growled lowly from its throat, slowly inspecting the dank passageway. Sound-Off covered her snout with her claws as the Vanished walked over to where they were hiding, sticking its head directly over the crouched down trio.
It took in a deep sniff of the air again. Then with a few popping sounds from its gullet, the Vanished gradually backed away. Like a gecko it scurried up the cavern wall, its belly pressed against the stone and its legs angled up like a spider's. It slithered into an opening on the ceiling, barb-tipped tail disappearing into the darkness.
A few minutes later the two mares and dragoness crawled out from behind the cramped space between the wall and their hiding place.
"Was- was that a gryphon?!" Sound-Off asked in alarm.
"I think so, at least, that's what it looked like. I've never seen one like that before." Scarlet admitted. "So its not just ponies that can be possessed by Eidolon."
"This is quite the concern, a fact Princess Luna must learn. If Grim Noise can corrupt others than the likes of me and you, what other creatures could join his ranks too?"  Zecora wondered aloud. "It would be in our best interest not to find out, let us continue before they return from their scout."
"Let's just hope they're not in a rush." Sound-Off prayed, scampering after the zebra. "But what were they doing? It almost seemed as if that one was their leader and was giving them orders."
"Communicating." Scarlet answered. "At least that's what it looked like. It was primitive, yes, but even without vocals we now know that they can network even perhaps from long distances by listening for each other's echoes."
Sure enough, from the darkness cam a plethora of different pitched clicks and squeals. Then came a confirmation cackling from the tunnel above.
"Let's get going, the danger is quickly growing." Zecora stated, picking her pace up from a trot to a canter.
Scarlet hobbled after the assassin, doing her best to keep up but still lagging some distance behind. It was in times like this that she really wished she could fly. Sound-Off was having the same thought. She wasn't used to running for so long and her muscles were starting to burn, especially after being hunched down into such an uncomfortable position, and her stubby legs made her even slower.
Luckily for the trio, their route was free from anymore Vanished other than the occasion clicking or screech echoing from the depths. But as a rather unlucky turn of events, the sounds were coming from all around them now. Once a cry had come from extraordinarily close by, forcing the agents to change course and take a turn down another narrow tunnel. Said tunnel was a one-shot trip forward, but was much more difficult to navigate in than the one they had been in previously thanks to the the same blistered roots as before. But these roots were much bigger, and grew out in thick spirals from the ceiling and both sides. At one point they had to crawl underneath a particularly large one. 
The tunnel began to widen out as they reached its end. They slowed down to a trot as they reached the passage's limits, preparing themselves just in case an enemy stepped into their path.
Zecora almost ended up falling as she reached the tunnel's edge, which was a straight trip down into the pit below. Scarlet managed to grab a hold of the mare's tail before that could happen, throwing her scythe into the earthy ground to counterbalance the weight.
The zebra scrambled back. "To you Scarlet I do owe my gratitude, I nearly died because of my careless attitude."
"Consider it payment for you saving mine." The pegasus responded.
"Hey," Sound-Off spoke up, pointing downward. "what's that at the bottom?"
Scarlet and Zecora trot over to the cliff, careful to keep a small distance between them and the edge.
At the base of the pit was a large glowing structure growing upwards, giving off a blaze of purple light. Its branches shot outward at strange angles, almost in a claw-like way. Its trunk was elongated and twisted as the Vanished, while breaking through the purple crystals lie the origin of the black roots.
There was no doubt about it. It was a tree.
The two mares' fur stood on end. Something about the tree felt so, wrong. In fact it didn't feel like a tree at all. Trees were supposed to offer comfort. Shade from the sun, shelter from the rain, a pile of leaves to play in when the autumn came into full swing. This tree didn't offer any of that. It held about it an ominous and dark presence, radiating with malevolence. It felt, chaotic.
	If there could be a Tree of Harmony, why couldn't there be a Tree of Chaos?
> Forbidden Fruit (8)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Friendship Express chugged up to Ponyville station with a loud screeching whistle.
As soon as the doors opened a herd of ponies shambled out; earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and tourists from the Crystal Empire. Among these ponies was an orange-furred unicorn in a star spangled cloak with an unkempt vermilion mane and tail; he stroked his goatee as he looked around, and readjusted his glasses. He called out to a pink unicorn sporting a two-toned purple mane with an aquamarine stripe running through it, who was anxiously glancing around the station. The other pony galloped over to meet him in a hug and exchanged a quick greeting before the stallion pointed sheepishly at his mountain of overstuffed bags that would have made Rarity look like a light packer. The pink mare then picked up a majority of the bags in her magic and began to trot off with her friend- who was only carrying one- in the direction of Twilight's castle.
And, although there were fewer, a hoof-full of reformed changelings and a single gryphon toting a pastry cart exited from the blue caboose a moment later. Walking alongside a highlighter yellow changeling with lavender eyes and purple wings was a single pony. She was a pale blue unicorn with a midnight blue mane and indigo eye shadow.
"Wow, that's so cool Moonlight Raven!" The changeling buzzed excitedly. "Do you think she could make a dress for me? I've honestly always wanted one, but my Queen- I mean- our old tyrant Chrysalis would never let us bring pony-made things into the hive."
"I guess so." The unicorn, Moonlight Raven, dully answered. "But don't you ever miss your old form Arachne? You looked so dark and edgy."
"Sometimes. I think the hardest part is finding my own identity. Chrysalis used to dictate everything in our lives, from which food we were allowed to eat to what role we would play in the Hive. I actually used to be part of the assault team that stormed Canterlot castle. But it's not like I can't change back to my old self," came Arachne's response as she enveloped herself in a green flame that changed her back into her old hole-filled black form. "although I don't think all my holes are in the right places."
"So what was the point of your metamorphosis if you can just change back?" Moonlight asked. "It seems a little pointless."
The changeling shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. It almost feels like it was all just a ploy so we could market ourselves to a more sensitive audience."
"Well I think you look better like this." The unicorn stated.
"Thanks!" Arachne beamed. "You're the first pony to say that! I feel like ever since we've changed that the ponies have lost all respect for us, and have started treating us worse. While there has been a few ponies willing to give us a chance, most are still weary of us. A few times I've been ridiculed for being a monster. They don't understand that every-ling was just following Chrysalis's orders! We had to. We were starving. She was the only mother we had ever known, and her magic kept us safe from the creatures of the Badlands as well."
"So she gave birth to all of you? Must have been one heck of a mother's day." Moonlight's mouth twisted upwards, if only slightly.
"No, that's a common misconception. We're not bees." Arachne clarified. "Every few seasons, when there was enough food in the Hive, Chrysalis would pair her strongest changelings to- um- get down and dirty if you know what I mean. Each female would lay one or two eggs, and then that egg would be brought down into the nursery where they would be tended to by nurses until a week before their hatching. From there Chrysalis would take over, so that when the eggs hatched the grubs would imprint on her. I never got to meet my real parents, and even if I did we wouldn't have recognized each other."
"No family? Do you at least have any siblings?" The mare shuddered at the thought, she couldn't imagine life without her twin sister. While everypony often remarked that they were direct opposites, the two loved each other very much.
"Well I have my several clutch-mates, but I don't think we're actually blood related. Our eggs were just put together depending on what we were supposed to do in life, and then our clutch-mates become our team-mates once we've graduated training." Arachne explained. "There used to be no such things as promotions in the Hive, so for the most part our clutch-mates are the only 'lings we ever get to know, other than the instructor assigned to train us and Chrysalis herself that is. And even then both were only figures we had to respect, not some-ling we actually got to know."
"But do you love your clutch-mates?" The pale pony inquired.
"Of course I do!" The changeling exclaimed, shocked by her new friend's question. "Why wouldn't I?! We've done everything together since the day we hatched! We train together, we eat together, we bathe together, we even invaded Canterlot together! Losing a clutch-mate is like losing a piece of yourself, that's how close we are! A changeling without their clutch-mates is as good as a dead changeling, and might even die from starvation! In the desperate times under Chrysalis's rule we would sparingly feed off of each other's love. And although we were always hungry, we were at least together and alive."
Moonlight put a calming hoof on the changeling's shoulder. "So are you still with your clutch-mates now that Thorax has taken reign?"
"Well, we've drifted apart some." Arachne admitted. "But we're still pretty close. Although at the invasion of Canterlot we lost Jewel to a guard, his magic left a gaping hole in her chest and she plummeted to the streets below. She never got a proper changeling burial, and I doubt the ponies were as kind enough to even give her one of theirs. And Chrysiridia passed away from the impact of hitting the ground after Shining Armor's and Princess Cadence's magic blasted us all the way to the more mountainous region of the Macintosh Hills. Then, not long after, Weevil died of starvation on our way back to the Hive. Damselfly was the last to go. She was the youngest out of all of us, and died from a deadly plague outbreak that killed almost three quarters of our population. It was terrifying!"
The unicorn quickly wrapped her fore-legs around the crying changeling. She couldn't possibly imagine the pain she had gone through, nor the horrid memories she was reliving. "I'm sorry for bringing it up. I didn't mean to upset you."
"No, no." Arachne sniffed. "It's okay. I've actually really needed to talk about it for a while. But I didn't want to cause my clutch-mates, Scarab and Mantis, any distress. And I should be sorry. We only just met, and I'm already telling you my life story."
"It's okay. I'm actually here to visit my sister Sunshine Smiles." Moonlight stated. "She was staying with our cousin Lily Lace for a couple of months to help her start off her career as a fashion designer, when Lily suddenly went missing about a week ago. Smiley has been sending me letters every day since she first arrived in Ponyville, but when I learned about what happened to Lily I couldn't help but to come down myself. I'm worried about my sister. She told me that she's scared to go outside in her last letter, so I wrote her back trying to convince her to try this omnivore restaurant she had mentioned. I don't know if she did, but she has always really enjoyed trying new places and things."
Arachne wiped her nose. "I hope that you find your cousin. And your sister sounds like a nice pony if she was willing to take time out of her life to come to Ponyville."
"She's probably one of the nicest ponies I've ever met." Moonlight remarked. "Want to meet her?"
"Sure." The changeling answered with a widening smile. "I'd love too."
As they continued to trot through the streets of Ponyville Moonlight asked, "So what brings you to Ponyville anyways?"
"Oh. I'm actually on a trip to see the world, starting with Equestria!" Arachne excitedly claimed. "I've already been to Baltimare and Manehattan, but while they were nice they were too loud and too busy for my tastes. From there I went to Canterlot for the first time since the invasion, and apologized to everypony through the Canterlot Press after paying my respects to Jewel. After Ponyville I plan on visiting Applepalooza, I heard they make fantastic pie! I also wanted to go to the Crystal Empire, but I'm not ready to face Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor after ruining their wedding. Not yet anyways. From there I guess I'll just go to Yakyakistan if I do decide to visit the Empire, and if not I heard Griffonstone has begun to improve. And then, well I haven't thought that far ahead."
"I've personally always wanted to visit Japony." Moonlight mentioned, and then blushingly added, "I'm actually a huge fan of anime and manga."
"Really?! Me too!" Arachne stated, putting a hoof to her chest. "I actually used to read manga from the newspaper stands while in disguise on missions! What's your favorite anime?"
"I actually like the more fluffy anime, like Orvfever High School Host Club." Moonlight's blush deepened.
Arachne laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just, you don't look like that kind of mare. Don't get me wrong, I like that anime a lot. But I guess I just prefer something darker like Tartarus-sing Ultimate, or a little more fast-paced anime like Ponyball-Z. Hey, maybe we can visit Japony together? What do you think?"
"Yeah." Moonlight smiled, an actual noticeable smile. "I think that would be-
She was interrupted by a sudden outraged cry, "LET ME GO!"
The pony and changeling stopped, looked at each other in concern, and then galloped over to the steadily growing crowd in the marketplace plaza.
"You've got to listen to me! I didn't do anything!" A white-furred gryphoness with slate grey feathers yelled out.
The gryphoness was covered in angry scratches and shallow gashes; her feathers were in desperate need of preening, while her left wing was beyond broken and dislocated to the point of where it just hung limply at her side.
Three enforcement officers surrounded her, and one more was standing over her with a firm hoof on her back.
The one that was holding her down, a pink pegasus mare with a pair of handcuffs as her cutiemark, spoke. "Then can you explain why you're covered in blood you filthy predator?"
"Can't you just look past my claws and listen to me?!" The gryphoness cried out in rage. "My friend and I were attacked by a monster at Ghastly Gorge!"
"Likely story." The mare growled into the gryphoness's ear.
"Please! You've got to believe me!" The gryphoness pleaded. "This giant pony-looking thing came galloping at us, and before we even had a chance to react it had snapped up my wing! I've never seen anything move so fast!"
"Suuure." The officer rolled her eyes. "A giant monster suddenly came out of nowhere and attacked you and your friend. Where is she then?! Why are you the only one that came back?! Admit it, you killed her!"
"What?! No! It really was a monster!" The gryphoness claimed. "I- I tried to fight it off, but-"
She was interrupted by a sudden forceful strike to the back of her head, smacking her beak against the ground. "Quiet! Nopony is going to believe your lies!"
The gryphoness defiantly raised her head, blood from her beak flowed onto the ground below. "Why won't you listen to me?! You- you Celestia worshiping plot-holes! You think you ponies are so great, just absolutely bucking perfect don't you?!" 
She turned to face the crowd. Her glare was positively scorching, filled with unrivaled hatred and rage. She spat a wad of bloody mucus towards a unicorn stallion.
"Well, look at you now! Where's that friendship you ponies are so keen on?! Not a single one of you has even tried to help me! Just because your silly little princesses raise the sun and moon, you think you're all high and mighty! Well you're all just a bunch of good for nothing, plant-loving, princess floozies! It's time someone knocked you off of your high hooves!"
"I said quiet!" The officer screamed, smacking the gryphoness against the ground a couple more times.
"Cowarbs!" The gryphoness choked out, her words slightly garbled from a bitten tongue. "Ou on't eben care 'bout un of yer own! Zunzine Ziles iz 'etter dan all of ou!" 
The gryphoness suddenly collapsed, sobbing loudly; she curled into a ball and covered her head with her claws as the pegasus atop her started mercilessly striking her and the other three officers joined in on the beating. They started spitting out racial slurs and other hurtful phrases.
"Meat-Eater!"
"Ugly feather-head!"
"Murder!"
"Go back to Gryphonia!"
It wasn't long before the angry crowd- riled by her words- joined in. Ponies were naturally herd creatures after all. They started to toss rocks, fruit, and whatever else they could get their hooves on, pelting the gryphoness with the hard objects. Fruit smothered against her coat, leaving colorful stains that matted her fur. Stone bruised the skin underneath her feathers, while in other cases a particularly sharp rock would pierce her skin and cause her to bleed.
Arachne stumbled back in terror, having had undergone similar treatment in her lifetime. She turned to her friend with a horrified look. "Moonlight! Moonlight! Why are you just standing there?! They're attacking that poor gryphon!" 
"That's my sister she named!" Moonlight Raven suddenly exclaimed, and with a tremendously loud voice yelled, "GET OFF OF HER!"
The unicorn suddenly barreled through the crowd, and tackled an officer to the ground. The charcoal stallion let out a startled cry before his head slammed against the solid ground with enough force to knock him unconscious.
"Hey! Stop her!" The pegasus still atop the bloodied and blackening bird ordered.
The two other officers, a pale blue unicorn mare and another pegasus stallion galloped off to incapacitate Moonlight. 
Arachne, still in her original changeling form, leapt out in front of them. The two officers scrambled back in fear at the sight of the unreformed changeling, but still held their ground. Arachne gave off a vicious hiss, pawing at the ground underneath her as she readied her self.
The unicorn lit her horn up in an aura of orange magic, preparing a stun spell meant to knock-out the changeling with a painful electric shock. Arachne saw the spell charging from the corner of her eye, and her training instincts automatically kicked in. Like a bouncy ball she sprang upwards, and darted over to the mare. With a single powerful blow from the changeling's chitinous hoof the unicorn was in the air, and a sudden kick to her barrel sent her crashing into a fruit stand where she was left unconscious in a pile of smashed fruit and splintered wood. 
A sudden force tackled Arachne, and she crashed into the fountain. The white-coated pegasus officer attempted to bash her head into the fountain's concrete base, but the changeling moved out of the way just in the nick of time. And with a swift kick to an unmentionable area, the stallion collapsed.
Meanwhile Moonlight had ignited her own horn, and had it aimed at the pegasus mare atop the gryphoness.
The mare slowly clapped her hooves together. "Bravo. You and your disgusting bug over there, you just broke more laws than I can count. Assaulting multiple officers? Damage to public property? Endangering civilians? You'll be lucky to get out in seven or even eight years. But your friend, oh, it just committed an act of war. For a monster that specializes in changing its form, I guess they can't change what they are, can they?!"
Moonlight just narrowed her eyes, and then out of nowhere let loose a dynamic eruption of magic that blasted the surprised and bewildered officer clear over the neighboring shops' roofs. "Huh. I guess those magic seminars with Princess Twilight weren't a total waste of time."
Arachne trot over to her, and together they helped the gryphoness to her feet. The crowd stared at them in horror, surprise, and waning anger.
"Look at you!" The changeling yelled, dropping her disguise and assuming her yellow form. She gestured to the barely conscious gryphoness. "Look at her! She's right! You're all so quick to judge! All she wanted to do was warn you! But you shut her down! You stood there as she was being beaten, and then you have the audacity to join in! You want to see a real monster?! Then just look in the mirror!"
The chitinous-equine began to cry and Moonlight took over. "This is Ponyville?! This is the friendship capital of Equestria?! Lies! Even when my cousin Lily Lace went missing you did nothing! You think the changelings and gryphons are cruel?! Do you want to know the number one murderer in Equestria?! Other ponies! Ponies kill ponies! Not gryphons! Not changelings! Not minotaurs, not diamond dogs, not even dragons! Ponies!"
A creme-coated mare stepped out of the crowd, hanging her head down in shame as she approached the trio. She turned to face the crowd. "You all know me. And for those of you that don't, I'm Bon Bon. My marefriend Lyra went missing at the beginning of this week. No pony stepped forward to help me look but Minuette and Octavia. You all know Lyra. She's a little weird, and is obsessed with hands. But even so, you all talked to her almost every day. Noteworthy, you and Lyra played together every week! Cherry Berry, you and Lyra grew up being fillyhood friends. Shoeshine, every day you come to my shop. And every day Lyra would play a special song on her lyre just for you, all because you once told her it was your favorite tune. You all know Lyra. But when she suddenly vanished, where were you?"
Another mare trotted forward, holding her head high. "And you all know me by my music. I am Octavia, I've lived here my entire life. Vinyl Scratch went missing the same day as Lyra. You all praised her. You called her music the newest trend. She achieved the greatness I have strived for! She signed your autographs, posed for your photos, and played at your parties. But then she disappeared and not one of you other than Bon Bon ever came to check on me. Berry Punch, you were her drinking buddy! And who payed for all those drinks? Vinyl did. Rainbow Swoop, remember when you crashed and broke your wings and got yourself stuck in a hole in the middle of nowhere? Who happened to be trotting by and pulled you out with her magic? Who carried you all the way to the hospital? Who visited you every single day after she learned you were an avid fan just so she could see your smile? Vinyl did. Vinyl did so much for you all. But now?! Now you're all acting like she never existed."
Moonlight Raven's scowl faded into a pained frown. "My sister Sunshine Smiles has just been attacked and taken Discord knows where. But you were all too focused on this gryphon, on something she can't help but to be, and you beat her mercilessly instead of hearing her out. If standing up for what's right makes me an instant criminal, then, arrest me."
"Me too." Arachne declared.
"Arrest me." Bon Bon stated.
"Arrest me!" Octavia demanded.
A blue unicorn stepped forward. "My name is Minuette, and I say, arrest me."
Another pony stepped up. "Arrest me."
The effect was overwhelming, pony after pony joined the gryphoness's side.
"Arrest me."
"Arrest me."
"Arrest me."
By now the officers had woken up, and the lead pegasus had redirected her flight path to the plaza. The mare quickly glanced around, mouth agape. And then with trembling steps she walked over to the gryphoness. The crowd fell into silence, but stood tense and ready to protect her.
The pink pegasus removed her police cap. She threw it to the ground, and stomped it flat with her hoof. "A- arrest me."
"Captain Lock Down?!" The charcoal stallion eye's widened in surprise.
"You heard me Spy Glass. Arrest me." Lock Down ordered. "I've realized how blind I was, how misguided- no, wrong I was, thanks to these three. If anypony deserves to get arrested, it's me. Do your job officer."
Spy Glass pulled out a pair of handcuffs, which were thrown across the plaza. "No. Arrest me. I joined in, that's on my head."
Lock Down nodded her head in respect, then turned to face her other officers. "Blunt Force, By-the-Book?"
"Arrest me." The white pegasus said, limping over to his fellow officers but keeping a good distance from Arachne.
"By-the-Book, what's your choice?" Lock Down asked the cyan mare.
The unicorn looked from left to right, finding herself all alone. She looked back at Lock Down. "This- this is against so many rules and regulations!"
"By-the-Book," Blunt Force spoke up. "we've been partners long enough, I know that you'll make the right choice."
"I- I- I-" The lawful pony stuttered, she then took a deep breath. "I place myself under arrest."
The crowd began to cheer as the mare joined them.
She was met by a pat on the back from her pink-coated superior. "I'm proud of you. The right choice doesn't always fall under the law, because the law isn't always right."
"No, the law is rarely right." Spy Glass agreed.
Lock Down turned to face the crowd. "Everypony. I'm sorry. I can't express that enough. I pushed my views upon you, that goes especially to my officers."
Spy Glass, Blunt Force, and By-the-Book hung their heads in shame. The clip-clop of hooves coming towards them brought back their attention. Lock Down shut her eyes, and let out a deep sigh.
"I can only ask for their forgiveness." She then made her way over to the gryphoness. "But for you three, I don't deserve it. I didn't judge you by what I could have learned, but by what I had been told growing up."
Arachne put her hoof on the mare's shoulder. "And it doesn't have to be that way. Changelings, gryphons, and ponies can live in peace. And it doesn't have to be just us. We can extend our hooves and claws out to the dragons and diamond dogs as well."
"Hooves, claws, or paws; fur, feathers, scales, or chitin it shouldn't matter in the end." Lock Down stated. "What does matter, is how we choose to see another race."
"Because in the end, it doesn't matter what you look like and whether you eat meat or plants." Bon Bon spoke up.
"We all brush our teeth at the end of the day!" Minuette nodded in agreeance.
Lock Down put a gentle hoof around the gryphoness's soft, but snarled, feathers. "What's your name?"
"Giselle." The gryphoness coughed out with a spray of blood.
Giselle suddenly collapsed, Arachne and Moonlight managed to catch her before she could fall.
"Quick!" Moonlight yelled. "We need to get her to the hospital!"
"I'm on it!" Arachne stated. She lit up her horn and Moonlight felt a slight tingling pressure on her own, a moment later a spiderweb hammock made of magical threads linked her and Moonlight's horns together. "A basic changeling spell like this will do just fine! Let's go!"
Giselle felt herself begin to gently rock as Arachne and Moonlight began to gallop towards the hospital. Blunt Force and By-the-Book stayed behind to manage the crowd, insisting that they not follow and give them space. Meanwhile, Spy Glass galloped ahead, creating a clear path in front of them with a siren spell. Lock Down flew alongside the stretcher, intent on seeing the gryphoness in good care.
The gryphoness coughed red again, and turned to the mare. "Heh. You should stop worrying about me, and worry more about Sunshine Smiles. That thing that took her, it wasn't natural. I've dealt with quarry eels, rouge diamond dogs, tatzlwurms, and even a few owlbears. This, 'tis but a flea bite."
"No, this is my fault. This is my responsibility." Lock Down insisted, the guilt eating her alive. "When I saw you rushing into town like Tirek himself was after you, covered in blood, I attacked you out of blind fear. I can't apologize enough for that. You see, my grandfather fought in the Great Hippogryph War. He nearly died while fighting on the front, more than likely against your own grandfather. His brother was taken from him, his friends too. He never forgave Gryphonia for it. And my dad- my dad, he was a royal guard. At the time of the Canterlot invasion he was stationed at the castle. He never came home. A changeling had murdered him. I never could find it in myself to forgive the changelings, and my mother only reinforced that hatred. I guess those views just ended up being passed down."
"And you're our friend Giselle." Moonlight emphasized from up front. "While I can't deny that I am absolutely terrified about what happened to my sister, and I want to go find her more than anything, I know that she would want me to take care of you first. That's just how she is, she puts others before herself. Besides, she's stronger than she looks. If you think my magic is powerful, wait until you see hers. She was once a student in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns you know."
"You unicorns are overpowered, you know that?" Giselle managed to laugh out before falling into a series of violent coughs and gasps.
The gryphoness then suddenly fell limp.
Arachne took immediate notice. "Faster! We need to go faster!"
"Well that's why we have these babies!" Lock Down picked up Moonlight from her middle. The changeling followed suit, her own wings beginning to buzz and push her through the air.
They shot like a cannonball down the streets of Ponyville, the pegasus's and changeling's wings pumping furiously.

***

Scarlet Thorn managed to recapture her balance just in time, the edge crumbled away a little.
Currently, the two mares and dragoness were literally scooting along the cavern wall. The thin cliff bank they were standing on was a small jutting little less than three quarters of a foot, forcing the zebra and pegasus up on their hind legs as they cautiously slid leftwards. They had been at this with their backs pressed against the wall for quite some time now, but progress was anything other than quick. Their efforts had gotten them almost to the midway point of the pit, with the bank slowly but surely growing wider.
"Scarlet please take care, you have given us quite the few scares." Zecora cautioned.
"I'm trying," Scarlet continued to slide herself along. "but it isn't easy with this heavy splint."
Zecora glanced down at the splint, nothing more than two relatively thick branches held around the mare's leg by a wrapping of gauze. "For the situation you had put yourself through, I'm afraid it was the best that I could do."
"Less talking, more scooting." Sound-Off demanded.
"If we go any faster, it could result in disaster." Zecora warned. "Following the tale of the arrogant rabbit and tortoise ace, slow and steady wins the race."
"Yeah, but fast and furious prevents one from being injurious." Sound-Off remarked. "Oh sweet Luna, now I'm rhyming!"
"Scarlet you have been awfully quiet, does it have to do with your recent diet?" Zecora inquired. "If you are feeling distress, telling your friends is for the best."
At the mention of the rotten pony flesh that she had eaten, the mare's stomach threatened to empty itself. The mare managed to choke back the rising heat in her throat and then quickly lied, "I'm fine. Just got to keep pressing forward."
Her friends looked at her with concern, but chose instead not to say anything. In reality, Scarlet was the exact opposite of alright. One part of her, the pony part, wanted nothing more than to collapse and bawl her eyes out. Another part demanded that she scream out her frustration, preferably right in Luna's royal face with some unsightly words. A third part, the part pushed to the border of insanity, whispered into her ear. And yet another part, the part that was Agent Scorpio, could hardly bother to give a buck. As an agent of Z.O.D.I.A.C. and vetran in the war against Grim Noise, she had fought against the things that went bump in the night for almost five years now.
And yet she couldn't bring herself to fully hate the lunar princess. Luna had offered her salvation. Once she had walked a dark path, a sacrifice of the good of the few for the good of the many she had told herself. Who didn't love rainbows? They were a symbol of hope, as much as a part of Equestria as the princesses. But such an exquisite beauty of six perfect colors was not free, and overpopulation was a rising concern for the happy country. It was only part of the pegasus culture after all, failure was genetic. Pull the weed out by its roots, or it would grow back. She had proven herself and her right to live in the factory, and eventually rose to become its queen. Scarlet Thorn was not a failure.
Her only failure was- No. She didn't think of it. She never thought of it.
Her talent wasn't making peace with her pain or the pain others caused, it was in hiding those feelings. Burying them so deep that not even Daring Do would have been able to recover them. No, not even Scarlet Thorn herself had that luxury. The title of key master belonged to Agent Scorpio. Cold, unforgiving, and nihilistic, Agent Scorpio had been born to protect and pick up the pieces of the broken mare. Luna had helped to create that; she had returned the mare's dignity to her.
Coming to her in her dreams, Luna slowly healed the mare and absolved her of her sins. And through Z.O.D.I.A.C. had given her the chance to protect her son. Everything that she had done, hadn't been for Equestria. It wasn't for Luna. It wasn't for Cobra. It wasn't even for herself. They were all just factors to the greater equation. If anything, it had been for her son. Black Dawn deserved a world at peace, more than just skin deep harmony. He was her greatest expectation; if Luna had been her salvation then Black Dawn was her redemption. But that was a thought, and memory, that she was working hard to push out of her mind and she really didn't want nor need to deal with at the moment. She had Cobra Strike, and they still had Black Dawn. That gave her reason to focus on the now.
"Scarlet! Scarlet, why did you stop?" Sound-Off demanded, pulling the mare from her thoughts.
"S- sorry." Scarlet stuttered out. "I needed to rest."
The lie was weak. But she knew Sound-Off wouldn't question it, and she wouldn't be able to put two and two together. And just as the pegasus had predicted, the reptile just let it be. "Well you've been standing there for almost five minutes, but with your injuries I can understand. But look, Zecora has already made it to the jutting! It would be better to rest there."
Scarlet followed the dragoness's claw to where their zebra companion was resting on a cliff balcony, she caught their stares and waved them over. The pegasus nodded at her striped friend, before turning back to Sound-Off. "Okay, just give me a second."
She tightened her wings' grip on her scythe and took a deep breath before continuing against the damp wall. Sound-Off followed after, her spikes scraping against the stone. A couple of minutes later they had made it over to where Zecora was sitting.
"Ah it took you a while, I have been preparing lunch meanwhile." Zecora stated, pulling out three sandwiches from her bag. "I hope that your appetites have not been ruined by surroundings so bloody, I have made treats of peanut butter and honey."
The zebra mare took a bite from her sandwich, clearly having no problem with eating. Her comrades simply chalked it up to her being an assassin.
"No thanks." Scarlet politely declined, her throat growing warm again. "I'm not hungry."
"Me either, sorry." Sound-Off apologized.
Both of their bellies suddenly rumbled, betraying their feelings.
Zecora smiled. "Your bellies' cries, seem to state otherwise. Are you sure you do not wish to eat? All this travelling is no easy feat."
"Ah screw it." Sound-Off gave in, and took the sandwich from Zecora. She took a small bite, more of a nibble really. "Hey! This is pretty good!"
Scarlet watched the young dragoness scarf down the rest of the sandwich. Of course Sound-Off's stomach would have won; the gluttonous little reptile just couldn't help herself when it came to food, even while in the corpse-ridden bowels of the underworld.
"Scarlet come sit and enjoy this meal, you'll see that to your hunger it will appeal." Zecora patted at the empty spot in between her and Sound-Off.
"Like I said, I'm not hungry." The pegasus stated, despite her protesting belly.
"Then in my bag is where it shall keep, but if you change your mind it is your's to reap." The zebra declared. "Would you like instead a drink of water, surely your mouth has gone dry from the slaughter?"
Scarlet couldn't deny that her lips were feeling dry, and that her throat was hoarse. She took the canteen from Zecora, and took a big swig out of it. It helped with the wretched taste in her mouth. "Thanks."
"And for you Sound-Off," Zecora began upon turning to the reptile. "by now you must be feeling in your throat a cough."
"Nah, I'm good." Sound-Off said. "Us dragons don't dehydrate easily."
"Alright but if you need it please ask, I have brought with me a few flasks." Zecora noted, putting the canteen back into her saddlebag. "Even us assassins who are masters of patience and stealth, come to learn the benefits of keeping up our health. A grumbling belly could easily give you away, and especially out in the field thirst is nothing to downplay."
"So you assassins just sit down wherever you are and eat?" Sound-Off asked, raising an eyebrow.
"As long as we remain unnoticed and are safe, and as so long we are not discovered by chafe." The zebra responded. "The group that I am a part in does indeed value our meals, lunch does not interfere with our deals."
"Wait, group? Are there other assassins that you have contact with?! So cool!" Sound-Off exclaimed.
"Indeed there are but in scarce amounts, and as my apprentice you shall hear their accounts. But that is talk for another day, it is time we continue going about our way." Zecora pushed herself up, and re-secured her staff to her belt. "Are you feeling rested and ready to go my friends? We've still a long way down until the end. Luckily the path ahead is wider, no longer will we have to crawl like wall spiders."
Indeed the road ahead of them had broadened considerably; a simple path that spiraled downwards into the dark edges of the pit.
Sound-Off adjusted the straps of her makeshift quiver. "Well, I'm ready. Zecora?"
"To purge the world of Vanished I will gladly fight, upon the surface they are but blights." The zebra stated, holding her hoof against her chest. "I am the will of the Marrigan incarnate, but the question is can you take up arms Scarlet?"
Scarlet closed her eyes, and let the scorpion take control. When she opened them, there was a vicious glint followed by a small but cruel smile. "Let's cleanse the Everfree."
"That is the spirit, it is indeed just the type of valor we must exhibit. Let's find our missing mares, and then leave this nightmarish lair." Zecora began to trot along their path, quietly humming a song to herself no doubt from her homelands.
"Well you both seem excited." The dragoness remarked, keeping pace next to the pegasus pony. "You're doing particularly well. You really had me worried there, with that whole speech about Luna and all."
"I wasn't in the right mind. It's this cavern, it's getting to me." Scarlet admitted. "But I have to keep it together, for the sake of those captured by the Vanished. We're agents of Z.O.D.I.A.C., that means we can't let the circumstances overwhelm us."
A sudden roar from above grabbed their attention.
The gryphon Vanished had found them. Its rotting wings- little more than feathers loosely clinging to tatters of bone pierced flesh- unfurled from its body. It leapt off of the cliff, falling downwards before catching itself and shooting up.
"Even circumstances like that?!" Sound-Off cried out.
"I- I don't understand!" Scarlet exclaimed. "They're not supposed to be able to fly!"
The Vanished shot toward them, but was knocked back by a blur of black and white. Zecora kicked the monster in the chest. Using the force of the impact she pushed herself off with the crunch of bone and with a backflip landed in front of them.
"Some help would be nice! Of strain I am beginning to feel the strife!" The assassin yelled.
Scarlet shook herself into action, and swung her scythe outwards. Through she couldn't clearly speak with the handle in her mouth, she still managed to mumble, "Hoot it! Hoot it!"
"Allow me to translate," Zecora began. "shoot the blasted thing before we meet our fate!"
"O- oh! On it!" Sound-Off exclaimed, pointing her crossbow at the rapidly approaching monster, and letting loose a bolt before reloading.
The arrow-tip flew right in between a hole in the Vanished's wing. The dragoness tried again, but this time the Vanished angled itself sideways and the bolt flew straight past it. 
"Hoot it, ou idjiot!" Scarlet yelled.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" The reptile yelled back, missing another shot.
She reloaded again, and let another bolt fly. This time it struck the Vanished in the eye, causing it to flare out its wings with a pained screech. It suddenly grabbed the arrow in its claws, and with a sickening squelch ripped it free. The optic nerve came loose with an audible snap; the mutated gryphon held out the pierced eye in front of it, glaring at them with its remaining wicked one as the blood flowed freely out from its socket. It snapped the bolt in half, and let it- along with its eye- fall into the darkness below.
The three companions watched in shock. Sound-Off struggled to steady her aim.
She shot. She missed. She shot again. She missed again. The Vanished glided towards them, as if wanting them to see and fear all of its glory. Suddenly it roared, and rocketed towards them.
Zecora fumbled with her bag, searching for a particular potion, when she was suddenly knocked off the cliff by a blur. A second gryphon Vanished had slammed into the zebra mare, seizing the shaman in its claws.
"Unhand me this instant! Or I will wipe you from existence!" Zecora warned, ignoring the blood dripping down her side from where its claws had pierced her hide. When the Vanished naturally failed to respect her request, the zebra snorted. "I gave you an assassin's warning, now you will be left mourning!"
Zecora suddenly jabbed the head of her staff straight into the monster's gullet. It rammed easily through the unarmored rotten flesh, lodging itself into the thing's warm intestines. She then wretched her staff free, blood and puss splashed upon her like a great wave and stained her coat red. The Vanished shrieked, and released her from its grasp. Before she could fall with it, the zebra righted herself and tugged on a hidden cord attached to her saddle bag. Hang glider wings exploded outwards from the sides of her bags. She glided down towards the bottom of the pit.
The first Vanished unexpectedly changed course immediately; flying instead above the pegasus and dragoness, and quickly pivoting around to dive after its fallen ally.
"Zecora! Come back!" Sound-Off cried out.
"My friends meet me at the bottom, and be careful not to get spotted! Hurry and get going, follow the trail that is glowing!" Zecora called out as she slipped into the darkness.
"Oh yak dung! Let's go Scarlet!" Sound-Off ordered.
The mare nodded her head, staggering after the dragoness.
There was a sudden wailing cry coming from the bottom of the pit; a loud warbling screech that echoed deafeningly throughout the entire chamber. From the connecting caverns came a series of various clickings and answering cries. The alarm had been detonated. They knew they were here now.
"Buck!" Scarlet screamed, "Go, go, go!"
Sound-Off and Scarlet began to run down the feebly lit path, hearing hoofsteps and growls from all around them. It was impossible to tell where they were all coming from; the croakings were echoing off of the walls, and so numerous were they that each cancelled out the next creating a chaotic uproar.
A sequence of pebbles suddenly rained down from above them. With a heavy thud and a loud roar a pony Vanished landed directly behind them, large and bulky as Cerberus himself. Countless bones punctured its decaying hide, boils filled with puss popped as it rose- splattering chunks of yellow onto the wall- onto massive hooves that Celestia herself could have easily fit under. A bald jaw connected to its face with a frill of skin tatters, and from the bare bone sprouted a long curved horn like a rhinoceros's. It began to charge after them, ramming its head forward like a bull. Luckily its massive weight and incredible bulk kept it from moving quickly on the quaking ridge, and it habitually stopped every time it thrust its head forward.
Scarlet squeaked as the horn on its muzzle barely poked her rump, and instinctively bucked. Her hoof smashed against the brute's forehead, causing it to stumble before snorting and letting out an enraged bellow that shook the dust from the ceiling.
The two rolled out from underneath a stomping hoof.
"What do we do?!' Sound-Off demanded.
The mare looked around desperately, but she could only see so far out in front of her. "Fight!"
She suddenly skidded around, using her scythe as a counterbalance. She attempted to slash at its chest, but spiked bone plating kept her from doing any real damage. The Vanished merely swatted at her, as if she were a bothersome mosquito. The mare easily dodged its slow and clumsy blows. Attempting to slash out at its forelegs, she slid underneath an oncoming hit and sliced upwards. She succeeded, but the monster apparently didn't even feel it as it kept chasing after them leaving behind puddles of blood.
Sound-Off shot at its face, lodging multiple bolts deep into the hulking thing's flesh. The bolts embedded deeply into its forehead and cheeks, causing puss to spill out of the wounds and drip down the thing's face. Again it gave no reaction.
Scarlet's eyes darted around wildly, but she couldn't find a weak spot. Almost every single part of the Vanished's body was well armored, and the parts that weren't were just gigantic twisted mounds of swollen flesh. It suddenly snapped at the pony in front of it, and she barely managed to dive out of the way from its enormous jaws with a little less of her coat than before.
She struck out at the exposed skull, seeing it as the weakest spot. She did succeed in cracking it, leaving a large spiderweb of growing fissures. The thing hissed like a cragadile, swinging its head out. Pinned against the wall, the horn pierced through Scarlet's soft belly; deep enough to make her scream, but shallow- or perhaps simply by luck- enough to not pierce any major organs. She kicked weakly at the monster's head, dislodging herself with a squelch and wet pop. She fell to the ground with a thump, but managed to raise herself onto trembling hooves. Blood began to cascade out of the wound in a steadily growing stream, quickly weakening the mare. Her adrenaline was fading at an alarming rate, and she only managed to avoid being squished flat because of Sound-Off dragging her forward.
"Oh buck me!" Sound-Off swore as she tugged the mare along. "You're losing blood again!"
Scarlet, unable to keep a hoof over the weeping wound because of her injury, only ground her teeth against her scythe.
A foreleg suddenly swung toward the mare. Then- with excruciating pain from her leg- Scarlet pushed the dragoness away and leapt high into the air, landing atop of the Vanished. It reared upwards and bucked wildly, attempting to throw the mare without falling off of the cliff. Scarlet hung on for dear life, the handle of her scythe catching on the monster's horns. It rammed itself against the wall, causing the cavern to indent inwards and the weak ground to tremble and crack. 
The pegasus's teeth rattled fiercely, so much so that her vision was blurred to the point of the world was nothing but splotches of color. The hook of her blade began to slide away, creating hot sparks as it slid against the bone. She was suddenly thrown into the air by the force of the bucking monster, and she swung her body forward in a panic.
Her scythe hooked into the monster's neck with a spray of blood, the sharp edge slicing cleanly into the hill of muscles and skin only to catch on its thick vertebrae.
The Vanished squealed in agony, falling forward and swerving towards the edge. It barely managed to catch its front hooves on the edge; scrambling to drag itself upwards, the thing kicked its hind legs wildly in the air but they were facing the wrong way to gain footing against the rock. Scarlet's grip on her scythe slipped, her teeth unused to upholding her full body weight, but she somehow managed to catch her good fore-leg around the handle. Her leg burned like fire, and the discomfort from the handle lodging itself underneath her elbow.
"Scarlet, hang on!" Sound-Off yelled.
She attempted to approach the monster and rescue her friend but the Vanished- despite its situation- snapped wildly at her, scooting its body slowly towards the reptile. The cracks along the ground began to grow outwards.
"Sound-Off!" The non-the-wiser mare cried out, her leg beginning to slip.
"I'm trying!" Sound-Off shouted.
The dragoness rolled underneath the thing's horn as it swung repeatedly towards her. The Vanished's tongue lolled out of its mouth, wriggling after her like a snake. Sound-Off hastily shot it with a bolt. It squealed in pain, and swiped at the reptile. It's hoof slammed into the plateau, which finally gave out and broke from the heavy impact. Sound-Off barely managed to roll away. 
Scarlet's scythe fell away from the mare, its owner held out a hoof towards her friend.
The little dragoness reached out for her, her claw tips scratched the pegasus's hoof.
The Vanished screeched as it completely lost its footing, hooves flailing as it fell. Scarlet's eyes widened in surprise, and then acceptance. Together they plummeted down towards the sharp and jagged tree below.
"SCARLET!" Sound-Off screamed, still reaching out for her.
Scarlet smiled with tears in her eye.
"Tell them I'm sorry." She said, closing her eyes.
Scarlet took a deep breath, and prayed that her death would be swift and her friends would make it out alive. Would it hurt to die? Would she be alive for a few hellish moments after hitting the ground, or would it be instantaneous? Her blood floated out of her, fanning out above her like a blossoming flower of scarlet. She spread her wings out. The wind whistled through her feathers faster and faster, was this what Rainbow Dash felt? Her life began to flash before her eyes. 
The orphanage. Meeting her only friend. Running away. Encountering her first Vanished in the Everfree. Surviving the attack with a slash to her side. Ponyville. Meeting Cobra Strike. Living together out on the streets. Getting into trouble. Being adopted. Her foster parents. Being abducted and taken to the Rainbow Factory. Her escape, Cobra's rescue. Training under the old king. Her fillyhood years past by, and soon enough she had graduated high school. Cobra playing at gigs, scraping by until he was discovered. Losing her- No! Don't think about it. Never think about it. Meeting Gallant and Sound-Off. Becoming the queen of the factory, and mastering her combat skills over the next several years. Her finding out about her pregnancy. The birth of Black Dawn. Raising their son together. Moving into a bigger house. Rescuing Slasher. Joining Z.O.D.I.A.C. and pledging herself to Luna. Fighting, always fighting. From birth to now she had fought. Fought for her survival. Fought through the pain. Fought for redemption.
She thought about Black Dawn and Cobra Strike; they were fighters too. They would grieve. They would scream. They would cry. But they would fight.
"I love you." Scarlet Thorn whispered.
A magenta magical aura suddenly enveloped the mare, and swiftly dragged her into the shadows.
> Serpent I (9)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarlet Thorn slowly opened her eyes with a groan. Her head throbbed painfully, causing her to wince as she pushed herself up.
She blinked, and stepped forward before slipping and nearly hitting the ground. Somepony, or something, had placed her on a bed of hay. The pegasus mare glanced around the room. There wasn't a lot to see. The cavern was lit by crystal growths, and very small. At least it was warmer here than any other place she had been; she could, regrettably, feel her limbs again. The silver-maned mare tried to remember how she had gotten there. She was with Zecora and Sound-Off, and then-
"The Vanished!" She suddenly cried out, the memories flooding back to her. "I- I fell, but then- but then how did I end up here?"
She fell back onto her rump, and put a foreleg against her belly. The wound on her abdomen had been patched up with a long strip of blood stained orchid fur wrapped thrice around her middle, and held fast by a piece of rib bone pushed through a slit in the skin. The skin itself had been tanned, cleaned, and slightly-hardened. Despite this, Scarlet still gagged.
However, she managed to force down the stale water in her throat. She glanced around for Zecora or Sound-Off, but there was no sign of her fellow agents. The pegasus stood, and limped forward.
"Sound-Off? Zecora?" She called out, albeit quietly.
There was no response but the slow dripping of water from somewhere in the cavern.
She stumbled over to the cavern wall, brushing a wing against the moist stone. Eventually, her feathers found an empty space in the rock. The passageway in front of her was incredibly narrow, she wouldn't be able to easily squeeze through without scraping her body against the jagged sides. And there was no telling what lurked in the darkness ahead, not without the petty light of her Luminous Gem at least.
The mare fell back to her hay pile, and weighed her options. On one hoof somepony had cared enough to clean and dress her wound, and to see her comfortable. But on the other hoof, her friends were more than likely in trouble and said pony that had helped her was nowhere to be seen. And on her metaphorical other hoof, it came to her attention that her scythe was no longer in her possession and without it she was completely defenseless. As she pondered her choices there was the sudden sound of approaching hoofsteps.
Scarlet squeaked in fear. She hastily made her way over to the chamber's entrance, grabbing a heavy rock along the way. She raised the rock into the air, waiting for whatever it was to crawl out of the tunnel. The hoofsteps approached gradually, and her leg began to grow tired from upholding the weight. Just as she was about to drop the rock, the thing in the tunnel stepped out.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" The unicorn cried out, flinching as she gripped the rock in her magic. "It's cool! It's cool!"
Scarlet Thorn squinted at the mare. "DJ Pon-3, is that you?"
"Uh yeah, I think so." The unicorn answered. "But call me Vinyl. DJ Pon-3 is just my stage name, my friends call me Vinyl. Hey, how are you feeling? You were pretty beaten up."
The pegasus slowly shifted her limbs. The pain was bad, really bad, but not anything that would actually hinder her too greatly. "I don't think anything else got broken thankfully. It hurts, but it's not completely unbearable. DJ- I mean, Vinyl, what happened to you? Are you okay?"
If Scarlet was beaten, Vinyl was absolutely thrashed. Her white coat was caked in blood and scabbed over in other places. One of her ears had been completely ripped off, leaving behind a blood crusted stump. Her horn had a long and jagged crack running through it, while her cutiemark-now unrecognizable- had been slashed over by claw marks on both sides of her flank. A long gash ran from the bridge of her muzzle almost all the way down to her barrel; blood also had stiffened the fur from her nose and a majority of her neck. Her two-toned blue mane had been sliced unevenly to the point of where one side of her head- sporting a large cut- had been practically shaven off, and her tail meanwhile was almost completely torn off. And one of her crimson eyes held to it a grey film; she was blind. Still, she managed a smile. She was missing teeth.
"Well I can earnestly say that I've never felt more alive." Vinyl Scratch admitted. "Hey, what's your name?"
"I'm Scarlet Thorn." She introduced herself with a wing salute against her chest. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances."
Vinyl eyed her suspiciously. "Hey, haven't I seen you before? Yeah, you live in that big cloud mansion above Saddle Row. I remember seeing you on the cover of Wheeling Stonework Magazine with Cobra Strike! So is he like your coltfriend or something?"
"Um, I guess that would be the correct term for it. Yes, I am his marefriend. We try really hard to keep his public life separate from our private lives, most ponies don't even know that we have a son." Scarlet explained.
"Oh what? I never would have guessed! How wild is that?!" Vinyl exclaimed. "He's like, what, twenty-six or twenty-eight? And you look like you're twenty-five?"
"I am twenty-five, and he's twenty-seven actually. We had our son young." Scarlet clarified. "I was almost twenty when I found out, and he had just turned twenty-two. But that's not important right now. How did you manage to survive down here for almost an entire week?"
Vinyl blinked in surprise. "A week? You're joshing me! It hasn't been that long, has it?"
"Vinyl," Scarlet began, unsure how to break it to her. "you've been missing for a week."
The unicorn mare plopped down onto the hay pile. "Oh Faust. It's really been a week hasn't it?"
Scarlet settled herself next to the unicorn, and nodded her head. "Almost a little over, if you count today. Vinyl, just how exactly have you been making it in these catacombs? I mean, what have you been eating?"
Vinyl's face turned green, and she choked back a sob. "I- I've had to resort to eating- to eating other p- ponies. I tried to-to eat those r- roots growing everywhere, but they just made me sick."
The pegasus gasped in shock and horror, and quickly put an empathetic hoof around the other mare's trembling shoulders. After a few moments, she piped up. "And for water?"
"Th- there's a river near here." Vinyl stuttered out. "It's not bad tasting, a little metallic if anything, but its the only water that I know of."
"And how have you managed to escape the Vanished?" Scarlet asked.
"The what?" The scarred mare raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Did- did you call those things Vanished?"
Scarlet bit her tongue, but she knew it couldn't be helped now. "I did. They're called the Vanished, that's their name."
"What the-" Vinyl shook her head. "How do you know this? Why do you know this?"
"I can't tell you that." Scarlet stated, beginning to sweat and not from the warmth.
"Hey, I've been down here a week according to you. And, I saved your life. I think I deserve an explanation, and I won't take no or I can't for an answer. So stop beating around the bush and just tell me already." Vinyl instigated.
Again, Scarlet weighed her options. Vinyl was right. She had saved her life, and she had obviously managed to procure and prolong her own. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, Princess Luna could have the pegasus on a pike for leaking such valuable information. It was also quite possible that the unicorn had been possessed by an Eidolon, although she saw no tell-tale signs of this; boils and blemishes on the skin, a rotting meat smell, twitchy and jerky movements, sharpened teeth, overactive saliva glands, bleeding from all orifices. Eventually, she decided that the other mare had not been possessed. But that still didn't help with the over looming question; should she tell Vinyl about Z.O.D.I.A.C. and Luna, or should she lie about it? Could she even make up such a well-thought out lie on the the spot like this?
"I'm waiting." Vinyl impatiently tapped a hoof against the floor, staring the mare down with her half-blind leer.
Scarlet bit her lip, but figured she had little choice in the matter. Vinyl wouldn't trust her unless she got the truth- or at least what was assumed to be the truth- from the pegasus. And in order to make up such a sophisticated lie with no plot holes- Scarlet wasn't a good liar anyways- would have taken more time and consideration.
"I- I know because- because- um-" The pegasus's eyes rolled upward.
Vinyl leaned closer, her vulture's eye prosecuting the mare. "Because?"
Scarlet gulped and breathlessly spat out, "Because I'm a secret agent of an organization ran by Princess Luna to fight against these monsters and their leader!"
"Oh, is that all?" Vinyl drew back and loosened herself.
"Y- you're not surprised?" Scarlet asked in astonishment.
"Nah. Why should I be? It's Equestria, we're getting attacked by another conquerer almost twice a year. And we live in Ponyville, ponies come from all over just to visit and see a monster attack up close and personal." Vinyl said with a small shrug. "I had my magic stolen from me by a motherbucking power-hungry centaur for Faust's sake! I'm pretty sure not a lot can surprise me, you know? So, secret government agent huh? How's that working out for you?"
"It's, working." Scarlet unconvincingly reported. "So you don't have any questions whatsoever? None at all? Nada? Zilch? Zero? Nothing?"
"Eh, well I guess I do have one." Vinyl calmly stated.
"Then what is it?" The pegasus inquired.
Vinyl smiled a broken, but honest, grin. "Where do I sign up?"

***

Sound-Off huffed and puffed as she ran on. She jumped over another large root blocking her path. Her legs had never burned so much in her life. The dragoness slid underneath a root arching upwards. The roars, growls, and hisses of the Vanished from somewhere in the darkness behind her was beyond terrifying. Every so often she could hear them getting closer, and she- for the very first time- thanked the great dragon goddess Zirnitra for her unnaturally small height for a dragon of her age.
She suddenly caught sight of a speck of white among the black and purple. The reptile ran towards it without really thinking too much into it. In the infinite darkness, the white light was something new- something that clearly didn't belong in this nightmarish landscape- and thus was a beacon hope. 
The black and white dragoness made it into the light's soft and familiar glow, it was a Luminous Gem. At first she was confused, until she saw another a good distance away. Then she remembered Zecora's words; follow the trail that is glowing. If she followed the trail of shards, then she would without a doubt find the assassin at the end of it. That is, if the Vanished didn't find her first.
Sound-Off heard the monsters getting closer again. She hastily picked up the Luminous Gem and dropped it into her quiver, so that the trail couldn't be followed. It wasn't as if, Sound-Off gasped out a small cry, Scarlet would need it. She had seen her friend plummet to her death. Or at least, Sound-Off thought so. She had seen the mare fall, but she hadn't watched it happen. She couldn't. She had looked away before she could. But then again, the chances of the pegasus surviving a fall from that height was just unheard of. The reptile wiped her nose as she ran. 
There was a numbness in her heart and a hollow pit in her soul. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to collapse and let the regret take her. Her throat was raw from a withheld wail of pain and hurt. It wasn't fair! Scarlet shouldn't have died. She shouldn't have left the dragoness all alone. Why? Why? The question nagged at the back of the reptile's mind, picking at her like a vulture does a carcass. Why did she have to die? And why did she feel as is she had died alongside the mare?
Sound-Off shook her head, she couldn't afford to mourn right now. The price would be her life. Another Vanished screeched from right behind her. She continued to run in a zigzag pattern, sliding under and jumping over roots in an attempt to shake the Vanished off of her trail. Whether she was succeeding or only making it more difficult on herself, there was no way to tell.
She picked up the next gem without even stopping, and let it go into her leather bag. As she ran, she couldn't help but to think that perhaps the pegasus had been right about Princess Luna. Where was the lunar sister? But Luna, Luna simply hadn't been there when Sound-Off had needed her most. And that infuriated the little dragoness to her very core.
The dragoness had always, always, trusted Luna. She, Gallant, and Luna had always been particularly close; the three of them were practically a family. Luna had personally adopted Gallant after seeing in him what had helped make her into Nightmare Moon, Gallant had hatched her from an egg as part of his exam to see if he had what it took to be the princess's personal protegee, and Sound-Off herself had been raised practically as his daughter. So she knew Luna better than to just write her off as being impassionate and corrupt. But that didn't mean Sound-Off couldn't feel betrayed, because she also knew first hand just how powerful Princess Luna was.
It was nothing short of a miracle that Celestia had managed to defeat Nightmare Moon. Sound-Off had no doubt that without the Elements of Harmony and Alicorn Amulet- which Luna revealed in the up-most secrecy that her beloved sister had worn during their fight for control of the skies- Celestia would have lost. If anything, Luna was the stronger of the two and always had been. The sun practically moved on its own as the world rotated around it; it just needed that little extra nudge. But the moon, the moon was constantly moving away from Equis little by little and it was up to Luna to stop that. She tirelessly pooled her magic into preventing her namesake from drifting away, even while the sun shone brightly in the sky above some part of her was focused on keeping the moon in its proper place. So if she was so powerful, where was she?
She picked up another glowing shard. The snarls behind her had begun to fade; hopefully they had lost interest when they lost sight of her. Still, the reptile kept her guard up. She had already failed her promise to Luna to keep her and Scarlet safe on this mission into the depths of Tartarus. She had already failed Gallant's honor code of never leaving a friend behind. She had already failed Zecora with her lack of the ability to fight in actual combat. But, no matter what, she would not fail to deliver Scarlet Thorn's last words. No way, no how, not for any reason. Alone and practically defenseless- with the exception of her crossbow and approximately twenty-two to nineteen bolts left, and a flame feeding off of a low battery- she absolutely refused to die before she could.
Sound-Off followed the trail deeper into the labyrinth, and further away from the Tree of Chaos. Immediately, she began to feel less on edge and more at peace as she continued to grow further and further from the blight. Not even bothering to look back, the dragoness continued into the darkness and towards the next light.

***

Cobra Strike held open the door of Sugarcube Corner for the mare and two foals.
After spending much of the day at the bakery, Cobra had finally payed for the foals' treats- in Ink Token's stead- and for Scarlet's cake before leaving the little shop as it prepared to close. It was late in the afternoon now, almost evening, the sun was beginning to set and cast a beautiful red-orange glow over the sleepy town. Almost nopony was out other than them, most had taken to staying indoors and abiding by the curfew Mayor Mare and Princess Twilight had agreed upon.
He turned to face Florina Tart. "Will you be alright getting home?"
The delicate mare smiled. "Don't worry too much about me. I may not look like it, but I am actually a red belt in Bitzilian jiu-jitsu. And I'm currently taking lessons in boxing. A mare needs to know how to defend herself, you know?"
"Daaaaad!" Black Dawn suddenly whined. "You promised! Let's hurry before they close!"
"Okay, just give me a minute." The older pegasus told the impatient colt. He gave Florina an apologetic glance. "I'll have to come back to Sugarcube Corner the next chance I get while you're on shift, and this time I'll bring the whole band!"
"I look forward to meeting them!" Florina exclaimed, genuinely meaning it. She then turned to the little colt and filly. "And hopefully I'll see you two cuties around too."
Ink Token giggled. "Yeah, I can show you my drawings!"
"I'm not cute." Black Dawn simultaneously muttered under his breath. Then he received a glare from his father. "I- um- Take care Miss Tart."
Florina smiled at them. "I would love to see your drawings Ink Token! And you take care yourself Black Dawn. Either of you feel free to stop by Sugarcube Corner anytime in the next week, and your shakes are on me. Good night everypony, do be careful out there!"
The earth pony mare cantered away, and the three ponies started in the opposite direction.
"Ugh, come on!" Black Dawn groaned, galloping ahead of his father. "You're so slow!"
Cobra Strike smiled mischievously. "Slow, huh?"
"The slowest in the whole world!" The colt claimed.
"We'll see about that!" Cobra Strike suddenly picked up the foals and swept them up onto his back with a swoop of his wings, and took off.
He rocketed through the empty streets of Ponyville like a bullet, effortlessly turning and weaving around lampposts and the occasional statue. A certain rainbow-maned cyan pegasus was leisurely flying next to a butter-yellow pink-maned mare through the park as they rapidly approached.
"So, you coming or what Flutters?" The first mare inquired.
"Oh, I don't know." The second mare quietly answered. "I want to, but I promised Doctor Fauna that I would help her in the clinic. I'm sorry Rainbow. I want to see your show, I really do, but I just can't make it. Please don't be angry!"
"I'm not angry. Why would I be angry? I get it, you're busy. Don't sweat it Fluttershy, you can just make it to my next- Whoa!" Rainbow was interrupted by a blur rushing between them.
"Eep!" Fluttershy was knocked back into the park fountain, and crashed against the top-most concrete basin. She moaned in pain, and hung limply over the stone platform.
"HEY!" Rainbow yelled. "THAT WAS MY FRIEND YOU HURT!"
"Rainbow, I'm fine really. You don't need to cause a-" Too late. Her friend was already dashing off after the blur.
Rainbow pumped her wings, but the blur remained a good few yards in front of her. The pegasus raised an eyebrow. This blur might have been fast, almost Wonderbolt fast in fact, but she was faster. She flapped her wings harder, beginning to gain ground. The mare tackled the blur.
"What the buck?!" The blur cursed as it collided with the ground.
"Hey you! How dare you-" Rainbow stopped when she saw the two foals push themselves up from the dirt, covered now in scrapes and bruises.
"Ow, my leg!" The purple filly cried out, tears leaking from her eyes as she held her hoof against her foreleg. "It hurts!"
The pegasus colt shook his head and pushed himself up. "Dad? Dad! Get off of him!"
Rainbow looked down at the pony she had pinned against the ground. The other pegasus's eyes rolled around in a daze, until he blinked a few times.
The cyan mare gasped and immediately jumped off of him. "You're- you're Cobra Strike!"
Cobra groaned and leapt up; his glasses had been cracked so he couldn't see his attacker. "Who's there?! Stay back kids! I'm warning you, I know Wing Chun Kung Fu!"
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I am so, so, so sorry!" Rainbow exclaimed as the colt rushed up to the other pony. "I didn't know you had foals with you, and I didn't know it was you Mr. Cobra Strike sir!"
"Hang on, who goes there?!" Cobra Strike demanded, squinting as he removed his glasses only to see a multi-colored blur. "Topsy Turvy? Is that you? You sound different, are you sick?"
"No, it's me! Rainbow Dash!" The pony introduced herself.
"Rainbow Dash? Now where have I-" Cobra Strike's memory clicked. "Oh! You're that Rainbow Dash! The Element of Harmony and fledgling Wonderbolt! I'm sorry, I can't see a thing without my glasses. Wait, why in Luna's name did you tackle me?!"
"You knocked my friend over!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Look, I'm sorry about that, but you could have hurt my son and his friend!" Cobra angrily retorted. He trot over to the crying filly. "Are you okay Ink Token? Alright, let me see. It's just a little scrape, you'll be fine."
Rainbow blinked. "You have a son?"
"That's not important right now!" The gold-maned pegasus growled. "Dawn? Dawn where are you? Are you hurt?"
The colt glared at the mare as he slunk by. "I'm fine dad! It doesn't hurt that much!"
"That's a relief." Cobra let out a sigh, and flexed out a wing which was slightly mangled. "It feels like I took the brunt of the impact thankfully."
"Rainbow! What do you think you're doing?!" A kind, yet stern, voice suddenly yelled. Another pegasus mare trot over to them, and gasped upon seeing the crying filly and two slightly bruised pegasi. She swooped past them at the speed of light and swooped Ink Token into her arms. "Oh you poor dear! What happened to you?"
Ink Token pointed an accusing hoof at Rainbow Dash. "Sh- she attacked us!"
Fluttershy's jaw dropped and she turned to her friend with a roar. "RAINBOW!"
The cyan mare froze before squeaking out, "I- I didn't mean to! It was an accident! I didn't know that-"
Fluttershy was suddenly inches away from the other mare's muzzle. "How many times have I told you not to be so rash?!"
"Um," Rainbow's ears flattened guiltily against her head. "a lot?"
"Seven hundred and twenty-one in the time I've known you!" A voice screamed out from the direction of Sugarcube Corner.
"Yeah, that many times!" The mare nodded her head rapidly.
"Apologize." Fluttershy demanded.
"Come on Fluttershy, it's no big deal." Rainbow began. "I'm sure Cobra Strike has better things to do then-"
"APOLOGIZE!" The usually quiet mare yelled, easily putting Princess Luna's Royal Canterlot Voice to shame.
"Agh!" Rainbow cried out, stumbling back and then racing forward only to suddenly brake in front of the other ponies. "I'm sorry that I tackled you alright?!"
"Apology accepted." Cobra Strike said with a small nod.
Fluttershy flew over to them, Ink Token still in her arms and now huddled against her chest. "I'm so sorry about that, Rainbow does things without thinking. Are you okay?"
Cobra smiled, finally somepony- other than Florina- was treating him like a normal pony! "I'm fine, just a little worse for the wear but nothing serious. But the thing is, I can't see my own hoof in front of my face without my glasses."
Upon seeing his badly broken glasses, Fluttershy put a hoof over her mouth before turning to her friend. "Rainbow, give him the bits for new ones!"
"What?!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Come on Flutters, I'm barely making enough money to pay off my Wonderbolt training fee! And with all the traveling we've done this past year alone because of the Cutie Map, I'm practically broke!"
"Do it now!" Fluttershy snarled.
"Um it's okay really, I could-" Cobra started.
"No, she insists." Fluttershy dictated.
The white-coated pegasus decided it was best not to argue with her. "Well, thanks."
"Yeah, don't mention it." Rainbow grumbled, hoofing over her pitifully small bit bag.
"Aw, the toy store has closed by now." Black Dawn suddenly piped, kicking at a pebble.
Fluttershy looked at the colt with sympathy. "Were you going to buy anything specific?"
"Oh come on!" Rainbow shouted. "Don't tell me you're going to make me pay for that too?!"
The yellow mare ignored her. "Go ahead, you can tell me."
"We were supposed to go buy Dragon Pits, and then play it when we got home." Black Dawn mumbled, looking at her with big sad eyes.
"If I remember correctly, I saw Starlight enter the toy store earlier today and come out with a copy." Fluttershy recalled. "I'm sure if you ask her she wouldn't mind lending it to you."
"Really?!" Black Dawn immediately perked up. He ran over to his father. "Did you hear that? Can we go to the castle and go see if we can borrow it? Please, please, please, pleeeaaase?"
"I'm sorry Black Dawn, but not today." Cobra apologized. "We still need to take Ink Token home, and I can't see. It would be better if we just went home and I find my spare glasses to wear until I can order a new pair."
"Actually," Fluttershy trilled. "I can take her home. If it's alright with you and her of course."
Cobra didn't see the harm in it; Fluttershy was the Element of Kindness after all, and a heroine of Equestria. "I'm okay with it. Ink Token?"
"Y- yeah." Ink Token sniffled. "Bye Black Dawn, bye Mr. Strike."
"Oh. Bye Ink Token." Black Dawn remorsefully responded, feeling guilty for being too selfish to comfort her. "I'll see you at school?"
"Well duh." Ink Token giggled.
"Come visit us sometime, aye?" Cobra smiled.
"I will!" Ink Token promised, before turning to Fluttershy as she flew them away. "I live on Stirrup Street, in the house with the big stained glass window!"
As soon as their voices faded away, the white-coated pegasus turned to the rainbow blur and gave her back her bit bag. "Here, I don't need this. I can buy my own pair. Okay Black Dawn, let's head home."
"Hey, I'll take you there. And we can stop at Twilight's to pick up that game along the way." Rainbow offered. "It's the least I could do."
"Well, I usually don't let other ponies into my personal life, but I guess I could make an exception. And it would give me a chance to spend some quality time with Dawn." Cobra looked around for his son. "Black Dawn, where are you?"
"Right here dad!" The colt piped from his side, rolling his eyes.
"So," Rainbow began as they trotted along after Black Dawn. "a son huh? Who's the lucky mare?"
Cobra Strike beamed in joy. "My marefriend, just wait until you meet her! Would you like to stay for dinner actually? Mmm, I hope she's making that Romane Pizza she promised."

***

Scarlet's stomach vociferously voiced its complaint, and the mare couldn't help but to moan from the hunger. She deeply regretted not eating much that morning and even more so not taking Zecora's offer on that sandwich. While it might have been small, it was at least something. If anything, she could really go for some Romane Pizza at the moment.
The two white-coated mares had yet to leave Vinyl's hidey-hole, and had taken to resting a little longer before they ventured out. In the meantime, Scarlet had explained to the damaged unicorn the bare bones of being a Z.O.D.I.A.C. agent and what she did as a member of the organization. To quiet her rumbling belly the mare slipped some of the hay underneath of her into her mouth. It was bland, and probably incredibly unsanitary, but it quelled her hunger just enough.
"So I fell unconscious just after you rescued me?" The pegasus inquired, attempting to ignore the hunger pangs in her belly.
"Yeah. You were out out faster than a jac-o-lantern's flame at the end of Nightmare Night." Vinyl Scratch answered. "You were muttering a name I think. Black Swan?"
"Black Dawn." Scarlet clarified. "My son's name."
"Huh, that's an interesting name." Vinyl noted.
"What do you mean?" Scarlet couldn't help but to take offense with her comment.
"Hey, I like it, don't get me wrong." The unicorn began. "It's just, unusual, is all. I mean, most ponies' names mirror a specific trait, you know? Like Rainbow Dash? She has a rainbow mane, so why not? Other times it's almost as if our names influence our cutiemarks, or maybe its the other way around. My pal Neon Lights has a cutiemark that's three stars, it kind of reflects his name I guess. So why Black Dawn anyways?"
Scarlet Thorn actually had to ponder on her question for a moment; it was difficult for her to put it into words. "Well, I guess at that point in both Cobra and I's lives it was a huge turning point. A new dawn for us both. And our futures had yet to be written, a blank chapter ahead of us in a story still being written even now. It was, black. So we decided to name our son Black Dawn, our new beginning. Even then, it wasn't easy. There were many conflicts in our emerging chapters."
"Really? How so?" Vinyl asked, stretching out her hind legs.
"Well, it was hard on us. And it was especially strenuous on Cobra Strike. We managed to keep my pregnancy under wraps; like I said before, he tries really hard to keep his public life separate from our personal one." Scarlet reminded before continuing. "For the first month it seemed as if his old manager, I think his name was Svengallop, understood. But it wasn't long before he was pressuring Cobra back into the limelight. He was at the peek of his popularity then, having just been discovered, and Svengallop saw an opportunity which was his for the taking. I was left alone with a newborn foal, in a big lonely house all by myself. Of course I had friends who were more than willing to help, but they had their own lives and helping me was just simply going out of their way."
"Oh yeah, I had that guy as my manager for a while too. But he was kind of a donkey's plot so I ended up dropping him and turning to self-management a few weeks after I took his offer, and that's still going strong." Vinyl stated. "So what happened?"
"Cobra's hours steadily grew longer and longer, and I saw him less and less. Eventually I got fed up with it after one night of many he came home in the twilight hours of morning so I snapped. I was beyond livid." Scarlet explained. "For the past six months I had only seen him in passing, and when he was home he was sleeping. I took care of Black Dawn, the house, and the bills all by myself. He was shocked to learn just how badly all of it had affected me. He went immediately to his manager and begged him to give him a break or at least less time out in public. When Svengallop refused, Cobra fired him and hooked up with his bandmate's brother and made him their manager instead. Looking Glass has been their manager ever since."
Vinyl gave her an impressed whistle. "Wow that's intense. I've never even thought about having foals, heck I don't like foals, but that just sounds like it was a lot of work on your part."
The pegasus smiled. "It was. I was always tired, and the stress was overwhelming. But after I confronted Cobra he put a lot of time back into our relationship and even more time into bonding with Black Dawn. Still, his fame is our paycheck and he slowly fell back into long hours out in public. Even now, he's not at home as much as I'd like and I know that he's not home anywhere near enough for our son. But we need to eat, and we need a roof over our heads. I've thought about putting myself back out there and finding a job, but it just never came to fruition. And as an active member of Z.O.D.I.A.C. I'm fine with that."
"Z.O.D.I.A.C. huh?" Vinyl closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't wait to join. I'm going to get revenge on these creeps for all of this."
The unicorn gestured to her mutilated body.
"So you never really told me." Scarlet recalled, shifting closer to Vinyl. "How have you managed to avoid being captured or killed by the Vanished?"
"It wasn't easy. The first time I encountered one was in the Everfree. But I think I should start from the beginning." Vinyl thought back to where it had all began before continuing. "I think it started almost a year ago. Whenever I was alone I'd get the weirdest feeling that I was being followed, but there was never anypony around. And then I began to wake up throughout the night and that feeling was only amplified. I pushed it all off as too many drinks and late nights, so I stopped drinking for a while and went to sleep earlier. It didn't help."
"So what helped you figure out that you were in danger?" The pegasus inquired. She was more than interested, and probably more than she should have been, but never since the creation of Z.O.D.I.A.C. had she nor any of the other agents had such a detailed source into the lives of Grim Noise's minions.
Vinyl shrugged. "I'm not actually sure. There were a few things really. First of all, I began to have these really bizarre nightmares. No, not even nightmares. It was more like images were being implanted into my head, but in a random sequence. I saw things, things I couldn't explain. The most reoccurring image was of this twisted glowing tree growing from a pit. It stood out to me the most, and just freaked me out for some reason."
"And then what?" The mare pressed, not wanting to bring it to the unicorn's attention that the exact tree from her nightmares was in these very caverns.
"Second, I began to notice things I wouldn't have noticed before. A vase would have been moved a centimeter out of place. A shadow on the wall that wasn't there before. The ticking of the clock in my room being a little louder than usual." Vinyl continued. "After that even my own house just seemed so alien to me. Things that I had for years just felt so out of place. It felt, menacing almost. It wasn't long before I avoided going home all together, for a while I even stayed in Manehattan with Neon. But eventually, I did have to come home."
"And it got worse?" Scarlet guessed by the unicorn mare's grimace.
"Yeah, a lot worse." Vinyl confirmed. "I began to hear this whispering, but it wasn't whispering at the same time. It was sorta like there was a bunch of ponies speaking to me at once, but not actually speaking words. I began to hear it almost all the time, even during the day when I was out surrounded by other ponies. Finally I lost it and told my roomie Octavia about everything but she just told me, all that scandalous noise you call music is causing your brain to turn into mush Vinyl."
The pegasus couldn't help but to chuckle at Vinyl's poor imitation of a pish-posh voice. "So she didn't believe you?"
"No! She couldn't even hear the whisperings!" Vinyl exclaimed, and then stopped and looked down in shame. "I- I got mad with her when she wouldn't listen. I started yelling at her, and calling her names. And then- and then I left for a while. I went back to Manehattan and stayed with some friends that I had made while working there, I knew Octy would have already sent out a letter to Neon Lights and he'd just send me right back to Ponyville. When we get out of here, you'll have to meet my pals. Azure Velour is just hilarious, and she can out-drink a minotaur! And Pacific Glow is just the weirdest. I actually invited them over a few times but P.G. just won't come to Ponyville for some reason, like, she's scared to. You know, she actually looks a lot like Pinkie Pie. Maybe they're twins and had a bad falling out or something?"
"So what made you come back to Ponyville then?" Scarlet asked.
"Well that's the weird part. I didn't want to come back to Ponyville. In fact, I was seriously contemplating just staying in Manehattan." Vinyl answered. "I didn't hear any of the whisperings or feel as if I was being watched while living with P.G. and Azure. I don't even really know what made me come back. My pals had already agreed that I could live with them for however long I wanted, and I had already sent off a letter to Octavia explaining that. But out of nowhere I suddenly dropped all the plans that I had made and left. I didn't even say good bye to P.G. and Azure. It was like I wasn't in control of my body. Before I had even realized it I was back out in front of mine and Octy's house with the letter I had sent her shredded on the ground by my hooves. And after that, I just didn't travel anymore. I couldn't even get within ten feet of the borders of the town without suddenly getting dizzy and light-headed."
Scarlet cocked her head. "That's just strange. It's almost as if something didn't want you to leave."
"I know right?!" Vinyl snorted. "And then after that, I started noticing something always in the corner of my eye. Like a shadow almost. No, that's not quite right. More like, when you drip ink into a glass of water. It was like that. I knew it was there, I just couldn't really see it unless I wasn't looking directly at it. It started off small, almost unnoticeable. But by the next two and a half seasons it had grown huge! This giant dark blot swimming just outside of my vision. It wasn't long after that I found out the whisperings I had heard had been coming from it. Finally I had enough, and I ran over to Twilight's and checked out a book of offensive and defensive spells."
"And then you were attacked by the Vanished?" Scarlet concluded.
"Yeah, that's exactly what happened! I was actually on my way to return the spell book to Twilight and check out a more adept one when I somehow ended up in the Everfree forest. I saw one of my pals, Lyra Heartstrings, standing there. I mean, we weren't huge pals, more like musical acquaintances, but it was still somepony that I knew. So of course I trot over to her, but I immediately noticed something was off." Vinyl Scratch paused and shuddered. "She wasn't moving, and didn't turn around when I called her name. She also had blood dripping down her legs, I thought maybe she was hurt. But as soon as I put a hoof on her shoulder she suddenly spun around and begun to snap at me like a rapid timberwolf! All I remember was that she was just absolutely covered in blood. I mean, it was pouring from her mouth, ears, nose, and eyes. And her eyes themselves had these creepy red spirals in them. She was foaming at the mouth, and her teeth were all pointy. And oh Faust did she stink! I haven't smelled anything that bad since my fillyhood cat choked to death while my family and I were on vacation and we came home to find her body half rotted in the parlour!"
Scarlet's face twisted up in fear and despair. It sounded to her as if Lyra had been in the early possession stage and had become an Obscure; she prayed it wasn't too late for the mint-green mare. "When did the Vanished come into play?"
"Not long after. I should have sensed something was up right off the bat." Vinyl continued. "Lyra wasn't aiming to kill, more like herding me deeper into the forest. Eventually she had chased me so far into the Everfree that I was completely lost. Then she suddenly stopped, and smiled at me. There was just something wrong with her smile, like it was too big for her face and didn't belong there. Then, out of the forest, came this- this monster. A Vanished as you called it. It moved so fast, I barely had time to react and fire off a fireball spell. But it just slithered out of the way, and I mean it literally got down on its belly and slid like a snake. I didn't even have enough time to react before it did this to me."
Vinyl pointed at the long two-stroke gashes running down the length of her flank, and then to her blind eye.
"The last thing I remember, I had been thrown face-first against a tree and my glasses had been smashed off. Then I woke up here in a small cavern and managed to feel my way out. Eventually, I came across the river and then to this place. I figured that the passageway here was too narrow for those monsters to fit through." The unicorn lightly tapped her damaged horn. "Then with a sound-proofing spell cast over the area and a sound-muffling spell for when I did leave, I was fine. But it hasn't been easy with this crack in my horn."
"Wait," Scarlet stopped the mare. "How are you able to use your magic? This cavern disables all forms of magic, unless its linked to an outside source."
"I'm not sure." Vinyl answered. "All I know is that after I ate those disgusting roots, I could use my magic again. But those roots really messed me up, and I mean messed me up. I was vomiting almost nonstop for at least the next few hours and I kept doing the number three, if you know what I mean. What about you, how'd you get here?"
"I was actually looking for you! Well, my friends and I were." The silver-maned pegasus replied, grimacing at the unicorn's last comment. "We were assigned by Princess Luna to find and rescue you, Lyra, and another unicorn mare named Lily Lace. And on our way here we saw a Vanished carrying two more unicorn mares, Sunshine Smiles and Amethyst Star. But while we were searching for you and the others, my friends and I were attacked and separated. And, we- we were too late to save Lily Lace."
"Oh no!" Vinyl exclaimed. "She- she's dead?"
"No." Scarlet quietly cried out, squeezing her eyes shut. "She's one of them now. A Vanished."
"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Vinyl suddenly stood up and confronted the mare. "What do you mean she's a Vanished?! You mean a pony turned into one of those things?!"
"Yes." Scarlet whispered. "A pony, and from what else I've seen, a gryphon and perhaps even other creatures, can become a Vanished if they have been possessed by an Eidolon long enough. Like your friend Lyra. She had been possessed, making her into an Obscure."
"Hang on, you mean to tell me that Lyra is going to transform into a monster?!" Vinyl Scratch threw a hoof into the air. "Vanished? Eidolon? Obscure? Just what the buck is going on here?! How much have you not told me?!"
The pegasus mare chewed her tongue. "Vinyl, listen to me. This, all of this, it goes back longer than the princesses themselves. The threat that we're up against, it's practically unstoppable. It's more destructive than Tirek. More dangerous than Queen Chrysalis. It's even quite possibly more chaotic than Discord. If we get out of here, go home. Forget about everything I told you about Z.O.D.I.A.C. and everything you've experienced since you first saw Lyra in the Everfree. Don't mention it to anypony under any circumstances. Pretend none of this ever happened, and go back to your old life."
"Um, excuse me?! My old life?!" Vinyl yelled. "This. Is. My. Life. If you think I'm going to just act like none of this happened then you're wrong! You might be able to go back to playing house, and you might be okay with forgetting about what happened here, but I'm not! Just look at me for Faust's sake! Do you honestly think I can just ignore all of this?! I'm going to get my revenge on these damn sons of hellions that did this to me. I'm going to become a member of Z.O.D.I.A.C. even if I have to shove my horn up Luna's royal plot-hole! I bucking ate other ponies Scarlet! I ate their rotting flesh, and you know the worst part?! After a while, I didn't even begin to mind it! I actually began to enjoy it! Looked forward to it even!"
The white-coated unicorn mare suddenly collapsed onto her forelegs and began to cry. Scarlet scooted over to the mare, and put a comforting wing over her new friend.
She tried to think of something to say, but the only adequate thing that came to mind was the truth she had put off for so many years. "Look, I've had death inside of me too. I- I lost a foal. It was my fault. There was this big mission assigned to the other agents, and I followed behind them without permission. I was pregnant at the time. But I ended up only getting in the way. And because of that, I lost my daughter. I know it sounds unlikely, but I just know that's why. It was all my fault. Not only did I screw up the mission, but I cost my daughter her life. And I carried her for the following six months, but she was born dead. And according to the doctor, she had been for some time. That was the start of it all. My unborn foal, Phoenix Feather. No pain is greater than that. It's the silent kind of pain, the kind that makes you scream out in agony in voiceless torment. The kind that has kept me up at night, and from getting out of bed in the morning. The kind that leaves me feeling dead inside; numb to the outside world. The kind that leaves a constant cry in my throat, a wail of anguish and anger. And there's nothing I can do about it."
This time, it was Vinyl who put a hoof over her. "I'm sorry."
"Me too." Scarlet apologized, not for herself but for what the mare next to her had been through.
Vinyl suddenly laughed. "Look at us. We're down here in the pits of Tartarus and we're feeling sorry for ourselves. We've lost. We've learned. It is what it is, you know?"
"Keep moving forward." The pegasus mare agreed.
"Yeah, so let's keep moving forward!" Vinyl picked herself off of the floor and wiped her tears away with a blood crusted hoof. "You said you have friends that are down here right? Well let's find them, rescue the other unicorns, and kick some monster flank!"
Invigorated by the unicorn mare's tenacity and noble attitude, Scarlet picked herself up with a firm hoof from Vinyl Scratch. "I think we're going to get along just fine."
"Are you kidding me?" Vinyl slammed a hoof into her back. "We're going to be the best of friends."
The two trot over to the chamber's entrance, and Vinyl lit her horn with a small purple illumination spell. It wasn't bright, but it did give them a better view of their surroundings than Scarlet's Luminous Gem.
"Are you sure you can keep up the spell without draining your energy?" The pegasus asked after noticing the unicorn wince upon casting the spell.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." Vinyl grunted as she brightened the spell slightly. "It only hurts at first. But its necessary. I learned sometime in the first day that any color other than purple attracts the Vanished like moths to a flame, so you might want to do something about that crystal around your neck."
Scarlet frowned, but took off the necklace and smashed the shard underneath of her hoof. "How's that?"
"That, well that works." Vinyl stated. "Okay, hold still. I'm going to cast that sound-muffling spell that I was telling you about on us. I've never cast it on more than just myself before, so it may take a minute."
Vinyl's horn glowed brighter for a few moments, and she ground her teeth  in pain. Eventually she exhaled loudly, and began to pant heavily.
"Vinyl are you okay?! You shouldn't push yourself like that!" Scarlet scolded.
"I'm fine." Vinyl groaned out. "Go ahead and walk around a bit. Let's see if the spell worked."
Scarlet circled around, her hoofsteps were padded as if she were walking on pillows. "Oh wow, that's an amazing spell! Hey Vinyl, does it work on objects too? Like maybe a bed or a table?"
"Well yeah, I guess. I mostly use it when recording, but I have used it on chip bags before so Octy doesn't know I'm eating outside of the dining room because she's super big on that for some reason. So I guess theoretically you could use it on your bed for whatever-" Vinyl abruptly halted and blinked a few times before blushing. "Oh. Oh!"
Scarlet's own coat gained a shade of red, and she quickly cleared her throat. "Um. Yeah. Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah. No problem." The unicorn quickly said. "Just to be clear, I am not coming to your place to cast that spell."
"I don't expect you to. I'll just have to find away to have it cast myself." Scarlet hastily responded.
The two mares shuffled awkwardly before Vinyl started down the tunnel. "We should- we should, um, get going. Find your friends."
"We should." Scarlet squeaked out, squeezing in after the blue-maned mare.
After a little bit, Vinyl spoke again; a grin on her face. "So the table huh?"
"Oh my Faust." Scarlet muttered in embarrassment and regret.
> Serpent II (9 1/2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zecora slid underneath the pegasus Vanished, slicing its left foreleg clean off with a spray of blood and a quick slash from her swordstick. The monster collapsed just as another leapt at Zecora, who wall-jumped to dodge it; with her mane brushing its malformed body, and- with the zebra hitching a ride on its back- it smashed into the first Vanished. The assassin jumped off just as the second Vanished rolled away, plunging her dagger straight into the susceptible forehead of the original monster; effectively killing it.
She turned around to face the remaining unicorn Vanished, which had skidded into a cluster of stalagmites. It stumbled upon its feet and began to sway on its hooves.
"You picked the wrong mare to buck with, I have trained under a more dangerous pith." The striped avenger growled, moving with deliberate slowness. "Of this day I have had enough, personally I am fed up."
Not even flinching, she suddenly charged at the Vanished- whose eyes widened in surprise- before leaping at it and dragging her dagger across its throat. The body fell forward and slammed against the ground. Zecora's dagger slid back up her sleeve with the clicking and shifting of gears.
The zebra spit into the dirt. That was the sixteenth and seventeenth Vanished she had killed since her separation from her companions; she still had it, or better said, never lost it in the first place. She dropped another Luminous Gem onto the ground, hoping her friends would find her soon.
She continued onward; unfazed and, if anything, annoyed. She hadn't been this covered in blood since the sphinxes waged war with the zebras, and she had bathed in the life-force of their slaughtered king. That was her best-loved memory. The sphinx queen and prince walking into the throne room, along with their entire royal council and the captain of their prestigious army, only to find Zecora drinking wine on the giant throne with the body of their oh-so-glorious-and-powerful king splayed out behind her like a couch and their treasure hoard below her hooves. She would have to tell Sound-Off about that one.
Zecora was something of a legend among the other assassins and in the lands on the other side of the globe. Many nations, from Zebrafrica to Gryphonia, and Cengoyle to Prance, spoke in hushed tones about the mare. They had even taken to saying; watch what you say and watch what you do, or the Will of the Marrigan will come for you. She went by many names; the Striped Furie in Gryphonia, Cengoyle preferred the simple title of the Raven, while in Prance she was known as the Wolf with Hooves. But by far her favorite, and the one she promoted the most, was the one from her patron country; the Will of the Marrigan.
Another Vanished suddenly came charging from the darkness, a giant beast of spikes and mole-like claws. Zecora didn't even have to look up as she slid past it. With a single puncturing thrust from her swordstick she had pierced its heart. The thing's eyes bulged out of its head, and bloody spittle went flying from its maw upon hitting the ground. The zebra simply walked through the growing crimson pool, leaving a trail of bloody hoofprints. She had just sheathed her weapon when one more dropped from the ceiling, and another two galloped in from separate entrances. Zecora stopped her trot, and stood there observing the three Vanished that had surrounded her.
A gryphon, an earth pony, and another pegasus. They growled at her as they carefully observed the small mare, having noticed their dead comrades. The assassin quickly grew bored and actually yawned.
"Oh please, you think the three of you will bring me to knees?" The zebra taunted. "You are nothing but obstacles in my path, and I shall show you the full extent of my wrath."
Before the Vanished could even react, Zecora had already almost reached the bulkiest of them. The mutated earth pony- not at all dissimilar to the one Scarlet had fought; in fact it was the one the pegasus had fought as her scythe was still lodged in its neck-  had barely lifted a hoof before the zebra threw a potion into its mouth. The monster swallowed instinctively, before suddenly exploding about five seconds later. Its innards splattered against the cavern, staining the walls with red and fleshy chunks which slid slowly down the stone.
"Who wants a piece?" Zecora asked as she turned to face the other two Vanished. "Of a new headdress I have a sudden caprice."
The Vanished actually looked scared, and with good reason. Ponies were supposed to be weak. Ponies were supposed to be afraid. Ponies were supposed to run and cower. But this pony, this pony gave zero bucks. This striped pony was strong. This striped pony was not afraid. This striped pony had killed and threatened their kind. Even the bloodthirstiest of beasts knew when it was beaten.
Ultimately, the two Vanished settled on retreating back into the darkness. The monstrous gryphon began to cry out in alarm, no doubt warning the hive of the dangerous foe.
Zecora just raised an eyebrow and shrugged her shoulders. "A wise choice, but alas there is no time to rejoice."
The striped mare just continued along her way, stepping over a chunk of blown off flesh. She began to hum to herself again, these Vanished were of no concern to her. The sphinxes she had once fought were easily thrice the size of the Vanished tanks, and they had been much more intelligent as well. Zecora stopped by a particularly large charred piece of flesh, and ripped Scarlet's scythe from the attached bone.
"Hmm, how odd is this? Here is her blade but where is the pegasus?" The assassin asked aloud. "She is alive I know, I feel it in my bones. For now I suppose it would be best if I held onto her blade, until I find the mare that has strayed."
Zecora fasted the scythe to her side, just above her staff before continuing to trot along. She reached into her bag, and then frowned. She was almost out of Luminous Gems, having only three of the thirty she had brought left. Rather than throw them behind her as a trail for her friends- and consequentially the Vanished- to follow, the zebra decided it was best to save them just in case she would need them.
Instead, Zecora trot over to a dismembered leg and plopped her rear down on it. She then opened her saddlebag and pulled out a clear flask from which amber liquid could be seen sloshing inside. The mare took a small swig from the flask before capping it shut. The whiskey burned her throat as she swallowed, having only tasted it so often. Zecora then wiped her mouth. She had the time, and she had the patience. Let them come. Her friends, and the Vanished.

***

Sound-Off stopped against a large stalagmite.
She put her claw against its curved surface, and paused to catch her breath. Her chest was screaming in protest, heart beating like a wild bird caught by the hooves of a foal. Every muscle had begun to burn as if Celestia's sun had set fire to her body. But she couldn't stop now. Stopping wasn't an option if she were to find Zecora. It was a sin if she didn't make it back to honor Scarlet Thorn.
The dragoness groaned as she forced herself on, pushing her little body well past its limits. She so badly wished that she was back in her comfy room in Ponyville, studying that teleportation spell. Or better yet, curled up next to Gallant as they researched a tome Luna had sent him home from Canterlot with. She rounded the corner with that happy thought, only to run smack into the corpse of a Vanished.
"Owww." Sound-Off whined, rubbing her snout.
This was the fourteenth body she had come across; she couldn't help but to wonder who- or more likely what- had killed all of the Vanished she had stumbled upon.
She passed another carcass as she continued on, this one had been gutted like a fish and its organs hung out from the slit in its skin. It looked like it had been done by blade, but the slit itself wasn't wide enough to have been done by scythe. Sound-Off shook her head. Despite her excruciating heart ache, she couldn't afford to get her hopes up. The dragoness stopped and looked for another white glow to mark her path. Then she caught sight of a faint twinkle down another tunnel.
Sound-Off hoped it was the last one; if she ran any more, she feared her legs might just pop off. As if Zirnitra had answered her prayers, she was delighted to find Zecora as she approached the Luminous Gem. However, she was concerned by the massive amounts of carnage surrounding her.
"Zecora!" Sound-Off cried out, sprinting over to her and grabbing her foreleg before collapsing to her knees in exhaustion and in tears. "I'm so glad you're okay! What happened here?!"
"Ah you see for that I slaughtered many Vanished, my copious talents did I brandish." Zecora explained before asking, "Sound-Off where is Scarlet Thorn? Why do you look so forlorn? My friend tell me what it is that ails you? What trouble when we separated came to brew?"
"It's Scarlet," Sound-Off whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "she's- she's d- dead. She f- fell. And- and- Wait. Is that her scythe?"
"Indeed to the mare this blade does belong, so no need to look so distraught and feel woebegone. For not only am I an assassin but also a shaman am I, and I can assure you that she is alive. I have not felt her soul leave this plane, from death she has somehow abstained." Zecora claimed. "For now just go ahead and get some rest, I shall find her but perhaps in the meantime a joke will help you feel less depressed."
"A joke?" Sound-Off asked, aghast that the zebra could make jokes in a time like this. "How can you even joke at a time like this?"
"I didn't mean to offend, I am only trying to be a good friend." Zecora apologized, putting a hoof on the dragoness's shoulder.
Sound-Off lost it. She threw off the zebra's hoof, and let loose all of the emotions she had built up. "DON'T CALL YOURSELF MY FRIEND!"
Zecora pulled back her hoof in shock. "Please, calm yourself and put these feelings to ease. I didn't mean to-"
"To what?!" Sound-Off screamed. "To just shrug off everything I just went through?! You weren't there! So don't call yourself my friend! You didn't see what I did! Scarlet is dead! She's dead Zecora! She fell to her death because I wasn't fast enough to save her! One of the only ponies that has ever accepted me for what I am has just died before my eyes! She helped to raise me Zecora! She helped me find my identity! She never judged me for what I did, or the choices I made! Even where Gallant wasn't accepting, she was! And now she's gone forever! She's gone."
The zebra waited until Sound-Off finished venting out her pain before pulling her into her forelegs. At first the dragoness protested, kicking and pounding her fists against the mare's chest until she finally lost the last of her energy and fell limp. She sobbed into the Zebra's fur, matting it further with her tears. With muffled wails and fading cries her sobs eventually receded into snivels and whimpers.
"All that I meant is that perhaps what you need is some humor, to get your mind off of an impossible future. You have already made up your mind over the situation, with absolutely no hesitation." Zecora stated. "In my intuity you should trust, to be my apprentice it is a must. Believe me when I say that Scarlet is still alive, your fears have not and will not be realized."
The dragoness allowed the zebra's words to soothe her some. While she was still not convinced, she at least felt a little better than before. She sniffled, and then bitterly spat out, "Hey Zecora? What's black and white, and red all over?"
"Sound-Off if you say me, of that answer better be followed by an apology." Zecora grumbled out, giving the dragoness a glare that could beat Fluttershy's stare.
"What do you get when a hydra walks through your vegetable garden?" The reptile quickly changed her joke.
"I do not know, would it be a broken hoe?" Zecora inquired.
"What? No!" Sound-Off shook her head. "That's not even a joke, that's an outcome of the situation! It's squash. The answer is squash."
"That was not a very good joke, here is one told by my native folk." Zecora picked up the wearied reptile and placed Sound-Off on her back. She then took a moment to to translate the quip in a way that would still make sense. "So a centaur and a gryphon walk into a bar, these are our tale's stars..."

***

Scarlet Thorn and Vinyl Scratch steadily hiked up the rocky inclination- so steep it was almost a cliff- with carefully placed hoofsteps. Mounds of rock and dust came loose with every hoofstep, falling onto Vinyl- the more sturdy of the two- who had taken to climbing behind the more recently injured pegasus.
Suddenly, Scarlet's hoof slipped. A pebble skidded out from beneath her hoof, rolling down the hill. The butterfly effect is a truly terrifying thing; a single flap from a butterfly's wings can start a hurricane across the world. That single pebble, upon repeatedly hitting the loose side of the cliff, had started a rock-slide as it tumbled. The avalanche roared downwards, smashing against the ground below with a rumbling that shook the entire cavern.
"Uh-oh." Vinyl's ear flattened against her head.
When the cave finally stopped shaking, the two mares were left clinging to- more like pressed completely against- the rock face. The only good outcome of the landslide, was that the avalanche had created almost a series of steps out of debris that the unicorn and pegasus could easily climb. Scarlet and Vinyl quickly jumped off from the cliff and clambered up to the top.
Scarlet panted as she collapsed onto the ground. "My- my bad."
A sudden screech filled the air.
The two mares swung around around to find a Vanished- Scarlet recognized it as the gryphon from before due to its missing eye- standing atop an outcrop in the chamber wall. It roared again, and leapt from its perch. Two more Vanished stalked out from the surrounding shadows, both unicorn, snarling as they approached.
"Move!" Vinyl  ordered, seizing the mare by her tail and yanking her up.
The Vanished began to surge after them, the two unicorns galloping alongside the gryphon as it led the charge. Scarlet and Vinyl ran side by side as the monsters gave chase, but were soon forced to a halt by a foaming and choppy river below a brittle cliff edge.
Both mares began to step closer and closer to the crumbling plateau. The rock underneath them began to crack and give way. Scarlet aggressively hunched over, pawing at the ground like a bull preparing to charge. Vinyl, meanwhile, lit up her horn, which began to heat up from the charging fireball spell.
The three Vanished began to slow down as they approached. The malformed gryphon went from a run to a walk, slowly advancing towards them with purpose as its eyes glared- specifically at the pegasus- with their demise.
But before it could get any closer, the edge crumbled away beneath them from the sudden increase in weight.
The two mares cried out in alarm as the ground disappeared from underneath their hooves, and they tumbled towards the raging river below. With a splash they were sucked underneath the water's turbulent surface. Vinyl gasped as she pulled herself into the blisteringly cold air above. She coughed out the freezing water from her lungs, and looked around for Scarlet. She didn't see the mare.
"Scarlet?! Scarlet?!" The unicorn choked out, swallowing another mouthful of water. It then came to her attention that the mare couldn't swim with only two functional legs. "Oh buck! Hang on, I've got ya!"
Vinyl took a big drink of the air and threw herself down into the icy water. She forced her eyes open once underneath the waves, ignoring the excruciating burning sensation that came with. Allowing the current to drag her along, she scanned the murky riverbed for the other white-coated mare. Only being able to see out of one eye, she swerved her head around until she saw a pony-shaped blur ahead of her to her right.
The unicorn swam towards it, sure enough finding her barely conscious friend struggling against the current. Vinyl slung the mare across her shoulder and swam her way back up. Both mares desperately gulped in the air.
"Th- thanks." Scarlet wheezed out, clinging onto the able-bodied unicorn for dear life.
"D- don't mention it." Vinyl replied, scraping her belly as she threw herself atop a smooth stone.
The sound of hoofsteps and roars grabbed their attention. The Vanished were chasing after them from atop the neighboring cliffs, one of them suddenly leapt off the bluff and splashed into the water behind the two ponies.
"Of all the motherbucking-" Vinyl growled, shoving herself off of the safety of the rock and back into the cold water. "Hold on!"
As the unicorn began to swim forward Scarlet began to call out directions. "Left! Go left!"
Vinyl threw herself out of the boulder's way just in time, passing by with only a small scrape on her flank. "Keep it coming! I can't see with the water in my face!"
"Stay in the middle!" Scarlet cried out. "Two rocks coming up on either side!"
The blue-maned mare managed to squeeze in between the two stones with only centimeters to spare on either side. Behind them, the Vanished smashed into the rocks with a surprised and angry squeal. It heaved itself over the jagged stone, scrapping open its belly and its left side; the river began to turn red. The flesh hooked against one of the boulders tore loose, and the Vanished surged after them.
Within seconds it had almost caught up to them, snapping at the water with its fang-filled jaws. It managed to get ahold of Vinyl's hind leg, sinking its teeth just below her ankle.
"AH MOTHERBUCKER!" Vinyl screamed. She swung her head around, and with a growl let loose a fireball spell directly into the Vanished's face.
The fireball singed Scarlet's mane and fur as it streaked by and- although weakened by the water spraying around them- engulfed the monster's face, forcing it to let go of Vinyl's leg as it shrieked and fell behind them.
From above, the other two Vanished galloped along side them. The one on the right clicked its tongue at the other one, and the Vanished on the second side fell back and dived into the water after their comrade. A moment later it had gripped the original monster's flesh in between its teeth and dragged it to the shallow riverbank. 
Vinyl suddenly smashed against a boulder, breaking loose another tooth.
"Yak dung!" Scarlet exclaimed, remembering her job. "Go right, go right!"
From atop the gryphon Vanished roared, unfurling its wings and swooping after them. It passed over their heads seconds later, luckily missing but still managing to catch a strand of silver mane in its talons.
"The buck?! It can fly?!" Vinyl yelled.
"Left again!" Her companion suddenly warned, giving her just the right amount of time to avoid impaling herself on a barely visible stalagmite.
The Vanished swept around with an outraged cry and plunged towards them again. This time the unicorn was ready, and cast another fireball spell just as the thing slowed down to grab them in its talons. With the speed of light the Vanished suddenly changed course, gliding just above the spell. The smell of singed feathers and fur permeated the air. It swiftly looped back around, diving at the mares again.
Vinyl attempted to ignite her horn, but to no avail. She had put too much strain on her damaged horn, and now was paying the price. She couldn't launch another attack, and her Illumination spell was rapidly fading.
"I- I can't- My- my magic is-" Vinyl stuttered, grounding her teeth as she struggled to keep the light at the tip of horn from going out. "I'm sorry!"
Scarlet hugged the unicorn, hearing the whistling of the Vanished's wings rapidly approach. "Yeah, me too."
"What are you talking abou-" Vinyl's head was suddenly dunked into the river as Scarlet pushed them under.
The Vanished flew overhead with an angry screech, circling above as it looked for the two mares.
From above the water's surface, the cavern was illuminated by a brilliant flash of orange, red, and yellow. A moment later, the gryphon Vanished- now sporting only one wing- plunged into the river behind them. The pegasus directed the unicorn away from the oncoming monster, as it reached out for them and scrambled to catch its claws into the soft riverbed.
Vinyl pulled herself up onto another slick stone, panting wildly. "Next time, warn me before you do that! Scarlet?"
When she failed to receive a response, the mare turned her head to find her friend missing. She frantically glanced around, and caught sight of a silver and red mane sinking below the surface. She let her light go out, and instead focused almost every last drop of her magical energy into dragging the mare over to her in her magenta aura. Despite the rapid river tugging Scarlet in the opposite direction, Vinyl miraculously managed to haul her friend over to her.
"Did I ever mention how much I hate water?" The pegasus spat out.
"Hey!" A voice yelled from atop the cliff. "I found her! And she's not alone!"
The two mares looked up to see a little black and white dragoness waving to them from above.
"Sound-Off!" Scarlet cried out in delight and relief.
"Aye yo! Little dragon chick!" Vinyl called out. "Can you get us out of here?!"
"Yeah! Zecora, get over here!" Sound-Off waved her companion over.
Zecora popped her head over the edge. "Ah Scarlet I am glad to see that you are okay, give me a second and to pull you out I will have found a way!"
The zebra pulled from her one of her saddlebags a thick rope. She tied one end to a large stalagmite before checking it for security; when she was satisfied she threw it over the edge to the two mares stuck in the bottom of the trench.
"Sweet!" Vinyl exclaimed, seizing the rope in a weak magical aura.
She knotted it first around Scarlet's middle and then around her own. With a small tug she made sure each knot was properly tied, grateful that her mother had made her join Filly Scouts all those years ago for the very first time in her life.
"Ready?!" Sound-Off asked from atop the cliff.
"Not too tight, right Scarlet?" Vinyl inquired.
The pegasus shifted slightly. "Tight, but not overly so."
"Alright!" The blue-maned mare yelled back. "Pull us up!"
The dragoness and zebra nodded in affirmation; Zecora grabbed the rope in between her teeth and Sound-Off firmly wrapped her claws around its almost silken surface, working as one they began to drag the two mares up. A took them a few moments, but they managed to heave the mares over the edge. Scarlet and Vinyl scrambled onto their hooves, untying the rope around them after.
The pegasus was suddenly rushed by a hug. "Scarlet! You're alive!"
Zecora smiled. "Our friend here was quite worried, she believed that you had met your death early."
"Hey, I told you I didn't plan on dying any time soon." Scarlet said, stroking the crying reptile's cheek.
"Please don't do that again." Sound-Off quietly pleaded, nuzzling into the mare's matted and cold fur.
"So is this rad little reptile like your adopted kid or what?" Vinyl inquired.
Scarlet and Sound-Off looked at each other; they had never really thought of it like that. In a sense Scarlet was sort of the dragoness's stand-in mother. She had helped raise Sound-Off, taking care of her while Gallant was out on missions or simply busy in Canterlot. In many ways she had been the mare's first foal, if only a little more scaly and with spikes. The pegasus truly did love the reptile, and the dragoness- while confused about her feelings for the mare, specifically why she had them- loved her too.
"No."
"Yes."
Sound-Off and Scarlet, respectively, replied simultaneously.
The dragoness looked at her with surprise. "You- you think I'm family? Even if I'm not- if I'm not like you?"
"Of course I do." Scarlet answered, pulling her closer.
Sound-Off's eyes began to tear up even harder than before, and with a cry she threw herself onto the pegasus.
She had always felt like such an outcast in pony society, feeling as if she had never belonged. On the contrary to the other residential dragon, it wasn't because she felt the need to reconnect with her dragon heritage and a lost sense of identity. No, Luna and Gallant had always made sure that she knew where she had come from- her birth-parents were actually quite nice- and gave her free access to all the knowledge she could have ever wanted. But it was because of that exact reason why she felt so disconnected. The other ponies she had met throughout her years treated her so differently. They either saw her as having the potential to grow into a monster because of her having absolutely no qualms with the dragon way, or simply as Gallant's pet. And unlike Spike, who was revered as a hero and a friend, they didn't see her as one of their own. All they saw was a carnivorous threat to their perfect society. Only the other members of Z.O.D.I.A.C. had ever treated her like the intelligent and gentle soul she truly was. But none of them, other than Gallant, had loved her. And now, she realized that somepony else did.
Sound-Off detached herself from the pegasus, collapsed her claws together and looked down. "Umm, hey Scarlet? Would it be too weird if I called you m- mom?"
"Sound-Off, you can call me whatever you want." Scarlet confirmed.
"A touching moment this has been," Zecora suddenly piped. "but there is still much to do and you've yet to introduce us to your friend."
"Oh. Everypony, and dragon," Scarlet smiled at Sound-Off as she walked over to the unicorn. "this is Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl, this is Zecora, I'm sure you've seen her around. And this dragon here is Sound-Off. Vinyl has survived down here for the entire week she was missing. She's one of us. And, she can use her magic."
"Yo." Vinyl grinned. "Glad to meet ya!"
"Excuse my question but how is it that magic you are able to use?" Zecora asked. "Please tell us how of it you were able to not lose."
Vinyl pointed over to where a cluster of roots were growing out of the wall. "I just ate one of those. But oh Faust, don't make the same mistake! Eating that was probably the most painful experience of my life, and that's really saying something after this past week. So, how did you find us anyways?"
"That was actually quite the easy task, first we followed the rumbling from the avalanche. Then when we arrived we saw your fireball spells burning bright, and that's how we knew you were here but just out of sight." Zecora explained. "We figured you were fighting for your lives, and Scarlet is defenseless without her scythe."
Scarlet then noticed the blade Zecora had strapped to her side, and quickly hobbled over to her. "My scythe! Where did you find it?"
"In the flesh of a Vanished was where it was stuck, coming across it was simply dumb luck." Zecora handed the mare back her weapon.
"Whoa, cool!" Vinyl exclaimed. "You're like some kind of grim reaper almost! Hey, when do I get my weapon?"
Zecora threw her staff over to the mare. "Here Vinyl Scratch, catch."
Vinyl looked at the caduceus in confusion. "Not to be unappreciative, but a stick?"
"Oh this isn't any stick like one you've seen before, it had a hidden feature that you will adore." The assassin twisted the head of the staff, and unsheathed the blade. "This is a weapon I've had for many years, its edge is of the finest I bear."
"You can use this one for now," Sound-Off explained as the mare tested her new blade with a few practice swings. "just until we find out what weapon works best for you."
Hearing the sudden screeches coming from the other two Vanished still in the trench, which was answered by more shrieks and clickings, the quartet was reminded of the imminent danger that they faced and the trial ahead of them.
"What do we do now?" Vinyl asked, sheathing the swordstick.
"I have a faint idea of where we need to be." Zecora began, bringing herself to a brisk trot as she led their group. "And I do believe that it is at the tree."
"Tree?" The marred mare rose her eyebrow, suddenly getting a very bad feeling. "What tree?"
Scarlet nervously chuckled. "Well there is a key detail I may have kept from you."
> Farewell to Heaven (10)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, how are you feeling?" Moonlight Raven asked the gryphoness before her.
Giselle shifted uncomfortably in the hospital bed, flexing out her single wing. "I- I don't know. I'm glad to have been patched up, but I just can't believe I'll never fly again. Racing has always been my life. And now, now I feel so lost."
After being brought to the hospital, and taken immediately into emergency care, the doctors had frantically examined and sown up the gryphoness. They determined that she was suffering from internal bleeding, a minor concussion, and a couple of broken ribs. But they had ultimately decided that her wing was un-salvageable. It would have been dead weight if she had kept it; they even feared that by potentially keeping it, the feathered appendage would have died and slowly infected her healthy body. And so, they had decided on emergency amputation.
Arachne walked in, carrying in her lime-green magic two glasses of water. Trailing behind the changeling were two ponies, the first was Lock Down and the second a dandelion-yellow mare with a cutiemark of a blank sketchpad and a blue pencil.
"Giselle," Lock Down addressed the bird as she approached, gesturing to the mare next to her. "this is Quick Sketch. She's part of the forensic team, she's a composite artist and is here to draw the monster that attacked you."
"Hi there!" Quick Sketch greeted in a bubbly voice. "Please, describe what you saw to me whenever you are ready."
"Ooh! And I can help!" Arachne buzzed out. "I'll transform into what you saw as Quick Sketch draws!"
"That's a great idea!" Quick Sketch agreed.
Giselle took a sip of the water the changeling had brought her before beginning. "Okay, let's see it looked like a yellow pony and it had a horn."
Aracne transformed herself into a yellow unicorn mare, not at all unlike the composite artist in front of her. "Like this?"
"No, that's not right at all." The gryphoness stated. "It was a pale shade of yellow, more of a bleached color. And it was taller too, like Celestia."
The changeling cast her horn again, this time changing into a yellow version of Celestia with the exception of the flowing mane and a pair of wings. "Is this better?"
"Still not right. Taller. Make your legs longer and more bony, bend your hind legs backwards like a cricket's if you can. And elongate your body, thin it out more. Make it look like you were starving." Giselle cocked her head and squinted at Arachne. "Now make your neck longer. No! Not that long! Just a few feet shorter. Good, that's more like it. Umm, make your horn longer too. Kind of like a javelin."
"Something like this?" The awkward looking changeling inquired, having to hunch over to fit into the room.
"Not quite. You need to lose the mane. No, don't lose it completely!" Giselle exclaimed when Arachne made herself bald. "Make it patchy, and turn it white. Okay, now just make it longer and more scraggly. Yeah, like that. Now make your hooves cloven. You know, like a goat's? And extend the tips out, make them more claw like. Can you make your teeth longer and sharper too? Uh, antlers. You need antlers."
"Umm, how's this?" Came Arachne's strained voice as she struggled to stay on her hooves.
"Almost there." Giselle assured. "You need to have spikes coming out of your sides. Three of them pointing upward on either side, and shaped more like boar tusks. Your eyes are all wrong. Change your pupils to red, and get rid of your irises. Now make them black, no white at all. And add a red spiral behind your pupil. Okay, now just cover the right side of your face in black tree bark and have more wood growing randomly from your body. There! That's what it looked like!"
Lock Down and Moonlight stared up at the disguised changeling in horror, the pegasus mare actually gulped and had to steady her knees.
"Are- are you sure that's what you saw?!" Lock Down stuttered out.
"Yeah, at least it looked pretty similar to that." Giselle shuddered. "It's giving me goosebumps just looking at it. And I'm feeling one of those phantom pain phenomenons, my wing actually aches."
Quick Sketch finished with a huge exhale of breath. "How does this look?"
She held up the picture for the gryphoness to see. It was of the monster she had described from a side portfolio. Giselle could almost feel its eyes eating away at her soul, and she swore she saw its hoof move. She quickly smacked it away.
"Y- yeah." She panted out. "That's it alright."
Suddenly a white-coated nurse with a light-pink mane trot into the room. Upon entering and seeing the monster standing between her and her patient- and obscuring the room's three other occupants from her sight- the mare grit her teeth and pawed at the ground.
"Oh no you don't!" She angrily shouted. "I don't care how big and bad you think you are, you leave my patient the buck alone!"
"No wait!" Arachne cried out, but it was too late.
The earth pony fearlessly threw herself upon Arachne with an enraged scream, beginning to beat the poor chitinous equine senseless.

***

The Tree of Chaos rose up from the pit like a great and ancient monolith, a testament to the evil that lurked deep within Equestria's heart and flowed through its veins just as easily as did its rivers and lakes. The hellish glow of purple did little to offer any comfort, instead it generated a ghastly light that only heightened the sharpness of the tree's surroundings. From the wretched bark and malformed crystal radiated a coldness, the kind that left one's very bones chilled and one's flesh frostbitten. Roots of which obviously belonged to the tree sprang up and plummeted back down, like the humps of a Sea Leviathan's ridged back. They coiled around each other, snaked along the walls and floor, spreading out like a gruesome infection into the surrounding caverns in search of more fertile land.
Hidden in a connecting tunnel behind one such clump of roots lie two ponies, one zebra, and one dragoness. They pressed themselves against the bulbous bark, and- having shed their own white lights- took refuge in the reassuring plum glow of Vinyl's own. The Vanished, a monster far larger than the last- sporting veins the size of a few of the roads in Ponyville- shambled slowly past them with a rumbling thump of its hooves. The ground below it quaked furiously, a rumbling that violently shook the loose pebbles below. Circling around the living mountain, a swarm of gryphon Vanished patrolled the area; splitting off into pairs before rejoining the group. Like ants, hundreds of other Vanished stampeded around the massive beast; the hive was definitely on high-alert now. The stench of rot coming from every possible direction was unbearable, but by now the four companions could at least tolerate it if only just barely. 
Zecora's hoof suddenly slipped, causing a loud thump as it smacked against a large root.
Like a well-oiled machine, each of the flying monsters and the others below all stopped and turned their heads in the direction of the noise; only the lumbering giant simply continued its awkward and stumbling gait. The eternally spiraling swirls of their eyes scanned the darkness in patient observation as they glided in the air or stood rigid on the ground. It was suddenly so quiet that one could have heard a pegasus's feather drop. The four travelers stopped breathing, terrified that the wild thudding of their frantic hearts would give them away. The horrible silence continued. Whether it was a blessing or a curse was anypony's guess.
A single drawn-out second passed. And then another, and then another. The Vanished swarming the area slowly turned their attention away one-by-one, almost effortlessly falling back into their previous activities. The three mares and reptile waited until the trembling of the ground faded away into a distance before sucking in the sweet- yet sour- air.
"What the buck was that?!" Vinyl Scratch suddenly hissed. "It was almost the size of Tirek!"
"Of that I have no idea, although faintly equine in looks it does remind me of a creature from my travels in Abyssinia. Although those creatures were not carnivorous. For now let us call it, Colossus." Zecora rhymed out. "Of course even those in the desert weren't so large, even the sphinxes were not so grotesquely enlarged."
"Are your rhymes always that lazy?" Vinyl suddenly inquired, the music-indulged side of her bothered by the poor excuse for the zebra's limerick.
"Of rhyming do I try, of that I can't deny." Zecora stated. "But to have always have a proper rhyme, it isn't easy to do all the time."
"Oh. Ha, my bad." Vinyl sheepishly laughed, shying away from the zebra's annoyed glare.
"We can discuss my pattern of speech another day, now is not the time talk in the center of this fray." The assassin promised, still scowling at the unicorn mare.
Sound-Off opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by loud screech. Old One-Eye, the gryphon Vanished, had yet again found them. Well, not really. The monster limped past them- forcing the quartet to press themselves practically into the tangle of roots- and towing behind it the other two Vanished from the river. One of the unicorns bumped into One-Eye's rump.
One-Eye let out an outraged growl, suddenly turning on its unicorn comrade- the one that had jumped after Scarlet and Vinyl into the river- and tore open its neck. The horned Vanished began to scream in agony, attempting to push the much larger gryphon off. Its cry was cut off by the ripping of flesh and a sputtering gurgle as the feathered monster viciously sliced its jugular before splitting the smaller equine beast's head from its neck. The body crashed against the cavern floor, and the gryphon Vanished tossed the bleeding head aside.
It then snarled at the remaining monster, who stepped back and bowed its head down in respect and fear. Predator and prey, it seemed that concept still existed even within the Vanished hive. But Faust had blessed the three mares and dragoness, the other Vanished did not notice them. The gryphon was far too enraged, and the unicorn's observant eyes were sown to the ground beneath it. The two soon limped off into the ever-expanding darkness.
"Hmm, it appears that an opportunity has struck. Something to get us past these monsters running amuck!" Zecora suddenly piped. "Although you my friends will not be happy, but we have no better choice sadly."
"Are you implying what I think you're implying?" Scarlet Thorn squeaked out.
The zebra's dagger clicked into place as she held her hoof in the air. "I'm afraid it is exactly as you think, but to survive the Vanished we must hoodwink. Besides it is not at all different from the masks, never what it was made from did you ask."
Sound-Off and Scarlet both began to dry heave, gagging at the implication. Vinyl, meanwhile, just cocked her head in confusion.
"Masks?" The unicorn inquired.
"Masks from my home country with great and mysterious power," Zecora sliced open the corpse's belly, gutting it as easily as a fish. The still warm, half-rotted, slightly blackened intestines spilled out onto the ground. "which can change one's form but only in appearance outer. But much to my dismay, the masks I had did break."
"Actually," Scarlet apologetically interrupted. "I lost mine when I fell into the cavern."
"Still, no longer these masks do I have. Our best tactic now is to evade the Vanished by one of them dressing as." Zecora stated, pulling organs out of the cadaver with the aid of her trusty blade. "Vinyl, would you be as kind as to assist? To lift this corpse in your magic would be helpful I admit."
"Oh. Oh! You mean, we're going to use that, like that?!" Vinyl suddenly exclaimed, finally realizing the zebra's intent.
"I'm afraid you're a little slow." Zecora smugly stated, giving the insult a moment to sink in before continuing. "My apologies, but that was payback for your earlier blow."
"Yeah, I deserved that." Vinyl admitted before turning to the problem in front of her, or rather, on her head. "I don't think I can lift it. My magic is already weak enough as it is. I can barely keep this illumination spell going, and even then I'm running on fumes!"
"Please just give it your best shot, a moment is all that is sought." The striped mare pleaded.
Vinyl frowned, but firmly nodded her head. "Okay, I'll give it what little I got!"
The unicorn's cracked horn brightened in intensity, sparking fiercely as she fought to lift the dead Vanished with her telekinesis. Vinyl began to feel an intense pressure on her horn,as if she were balancing one-thousand pounds of weight on the pointed tip. She began to sweat from the exertion. Zecora, in the mean time, had turned into a living blender blade. She spun around on nimble hooves, separating chunks of flesh and fat from the ragged skin. Finally, the blue-maned mare gasped in pain before collapsing to the ground; her horn went cold. The corpse, no more than a rug now, fell atop the zebra.
"Vinyl!" Scarlet exclaimed, trotting over to her friend and helping her onto her hooves.
"I'm- I'm fine." Vinyl insisted, although she was swaying and barely able to stand. "Just got a little dizzy there."
No more than three minutes later the pelt suddenly shifted towards them, and the zebra mare lifted it up so that she was partially visible. "Our disguise is ready! This should help the Vanished act a little more friendly!"
Sound-Off, who hadn't been able to find the right words until now, finally spoke, "Oh Zirnitra's black scales!  We're actually going to wear that thing like a Nightmare Night costume?! That's fine, it's all fine! How is it any different than anything else we've done today?!"
Vinyl- still using Scarlet as a crutch- suddenly whacked the dragoness on the back of her head. "Better?"
"I needed that." Sound-Off grunted as she rubbed the spot where the mare's hoof hit.
"Come, let our journey commence! And please try not to be so tense, or we just may end up as chum!" Zecora held her hoof high, so that her companions could join her underneath the Vanished pelt.
Sound-Off and Scarlet looked at each other in concern and regret before accepting the assassin's offer, Vinyl followed behind them. All three gasped as they entered the corpse. Zecora had completely hollowed out the Vanished, leaving nothing but skin on bones. The barrel of the monster had been converted into a sort of cockpit. The zebra had somehow managed to take the discarded bone fragments from the rib cage and turned the pieces into three separate swings for the ponies to sit upon. And she had taken the previously discarded intestines and transformed them into grotesque puppet strings that would pilot the corpse around.
"Okay, wow. You have just a little too much experience in this." Vinyl Scratch noted.
Sound-Off frowned. "Where am I supposed to sit?"
"I figured you could sit with Scarlet, there was not enough room for another seat in this carcass." Zecora stated, heaving herself up into the 'pilot's' seat. "Please sit, stalling we must quit."
Vinyl did as she was told, plopping onto the seat behind the striped mare. "Huh, it's actually pretty comfortable. Not bad at all."
"Wish I could say the same thing about the smell." Sound-Off grumbled, taking her place in front of the pegasus. "Stupid overly sensitive dragon nose."
"Oh yeah, it smells something awful. Even after a week down here, I haven't been able to get used to it. It's a little ripe if you ask me, but its still nothing compared to that aftertaste of a shot of straight fermented Yakyakistan vodka." The half-blind mare stated. "Oye, I could actually really go for some good-old fashioned throat scorching vodka right now."
"I may not have vodka but I do have whiskey, you may have that for now unless you are picky." Zecora stated, handing Vinyl the flask which she took from her bag.
"Shoot, whiskey, vodka, or even cheap cider, I'll take whatever I can get." Vinyl stated, downing the entire flask with a satisfied, "Ah. That hits the spot!"
Scarlet spoke up next, "Just how exactly do you plan on getting this thing to move Zecora?"
"I am glad that you asked, it is no easy task. But it will be much easier to show, than to explain what I know." Zecora suddenly yanked on the intestines wrapped around her fore-hooves, and the meat-puppet jerked to life.
The Vanished stumbled onto its clawed hooves, drunkenly staggering from one side to the next until it found its balance. With clunky robotic movements it began to walk forward, its gait becoming more natural- as natural as it could be for the monster's elongated limbs- as it continued on. Its head- which had been reattached to its body and shoved on a bone pivot- remained stationary until needed. From an almost unnoticeable slit in the Vanished's neck, a pair of blue eyes scanned the area ahead them.
Soon enough- far too soon in fact- the hollow Vanished had joined the herd. The hundreds of Vanished flowed through the tunnels and into the ever-changing hoard like an intersection in Manehattan during rush hour. However, each moved with purpose; a clear destination in mind, and a specific job to do. All but one. Zecora yanked one pair of intestines after the other. Right front hoof, back left hoof. Left front hoof, back right hoof. Right front hoof, back left hoof. Left front hoof, back right hoof. Turn the head by moving her own; the pivot was attached to a makeshift yoke around her neck. Right front hoof, back left hoof. Left front hoof, back right hoof. The process was almost mind-numbing, but the precision was essential. The hollow Vanished then followed the majority of the herd out of the tunnel and towards the Tree of Chaos.
Vinyl gulped when she saw the gigantic tree towering high above from the incision Zecora had made. Every instinct in her body screamed at her to run; run anywhere, because anywhere else was safer than being near this tree. Her horn began to ache something fierce, creating a pounding headache that brought tears to her eyes. The unicorn grit her teeth and forced her tears to remain back.
"Vinyl, are you okay?" Scarlet whispered, placing a calming hoof on the other pony's trembling withers. "I know this is the tree from your nightmares. It exists in this pit. I don't want to go back there either, but know that you're safe! You're with friends."
The unicorn did her best to find comfort in the pegasus's words. "Y- yeah. Sa- safe."
Vinyl felt like such a liar. She didn't feel safe at all. In fact, there was nothing more she wanted to do then to gallop back into her little cavern- far away from the tree- and hide there for the rest of eternity. Just seeing the tree made her already ice-bristled fur stand on end, and her very being quake. But she did take solace in her friend's warm hoof, a reminder that she wasn't alone in this nightmare made reality.
"Just take a deep breath, okay?" Scarlet softly ordered in a motherly tone.
"Okay." Vinyl whispered, attempting to reclaim her tranquility.
"Why are we going towards the tree at all?" Sound-Off suddenly inquired, just as unhappy with their destination as the unicorn.
The zebra's hooves continued to jerk the puppet's strings around in a never-ending loop. "Upon my escape I noticed something strange, something out of place to these caverns so deranged. A hole at the base of this evil tree, there all of our answers to questions will be. I know I don't sound very convincing, just call it shaman's instinct."
"We're going inside the tree?!" All three of her companion exclaimed at once, although still in hushed tones.
Before the zebra could answer, the ground began to rumble violently underneath them once more. Zecora was forced to tug on all of the puppet's strings at once to keep their puppet from falling limp; it jolted to a stiff halt. The Vanished began to smash into each other, their single stop creating a massive traffic jam. A Vanished crashed into them from the front. It growled out its displeasure and rage, but before the Vanished could take out that anger on their puppet a gigantic hoof suddenly squished it flat. 
The unlucky Vanished was crushed beneath the pillar that was the Colossus's hoof. The broken monster's limbs flew upwards before hitting the ground with the splatter of rotten blood, legs twitching like an insects before slowly falling limp. The titan only raised its hoof again. Chunks of flattened flesh either fell to the ground below, or remained caught in the crook of its hoof.
Zecora quickly picked back up the pace; right front hoof, back left hoof. Left front hoof, back right hoof. However in her haste she failed to notice their puppet's side scrape against a sharp crystal, causing the hide to rip with an audible tearing sound. Luckily, Vinyl's magic had just recovered enough to where she was able to quickly seize the heavy hide in her magic to keep up their monstrous disguise; the mare's face was scrunched in strain.
"Zecora, she can't keep this up for much longer!" Scarlet warned in the focused unicorn's stead.
"What are we going to do?!" Sound-Off demanded, chewing on the tips of her claws.
The assassin turned her head towards the Colossus; the puppet did the same. "Luckily a back-up plan did I make, though I hope it works for all of our sakes."
"How come I get the feeling that this new plan is somehow worse than this one?" Sound-Off moaned.
Vinyl's horn began to flicker. The pegasus mare hissed out, "Hurry!"
Zecora nodded her head, and began to work the puppet's strings triple-time. The hollow Vanished shot diagonally across the traffic- which by then had picked back up- before suddenly jerking left and following the path of the Colossus from alongside the cavern wall.

***

Celestia stepped out of the town hall with tired and slightly irritated eyes. Still, she managed to keep a smile upon her face as the nobles chatted amongst each other.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry that I made such a big deal about my roses growing into your yard Lyrica Lilac." An orange mare with a strawberry mane chuckled haughtily.
"Really, it's my bad Big Wig." The purplish-grey mare insisted. "I should have told you that I was allergic to them in the first place!"
"Yes, yes." Celestia agreed, struggling to keep her eye from twitching. "And it only took six hours to reach a conclusion that worked out for the both of you."
"Who would have thought to shift my gardener's schedule around but you princess!" Big Wig stated. "It will be much more efficient for him to prune my rose bushes three times a week, and while I'm at it I might as well have him put a few extra hours into my hedges. Wouldn't want nasty little things like spiders and slugs making their homes in my bushes."
Celestia couldn't tell if she felt worse for the overworked gardener or for all those poor homeless bugs. Still, the alicorn only smiled. "No, wouldn't want that would we? And I'm just glad I could help."
"Help?" Lilac scoffed. "You're keeping this mare from having an allergy attack!"
The solar princess couldn't help but to look around for a vase of roses to throw at the mare. When there wasn't a rose petal to be found, she pushed that dark thought aside. "Of course my little pony. All of my subjects are important to me."
"How generous of you princess." Big Wig stated.
"Indeed." Lilac agreed. "Accepting even all those backwater ruffians, like those mangy Ponyville folk? And above all accepting all those ugly and vicious gryphons, diamond dogs, minotaurs, and even those destructive dragons! What senseless beasts they all are! Bringing in their disgusting meat-eating restaurants and filthy primitive cultures! You should really do something about that princess! Ponies are getting uncomfortable!"
Before Celestia got a chance to respond, Big Wig spoke up. "And don't even get me started on those ghastly changelings! How utterly vile! Giant bugs?! Flies are bad enough, but a pony-sized monstrosity like that? Reformed or not, I wouldn't want one in my house. I don't even want them in Canterlot! How can you accept them into Equestria after what they did to Princess Cadence your majesty?"
Celestia thanked Faust that they had reached the doors leading out of the castle. "Oh dear, it looks like we've reached the door. Do get home safe you two."
"But what about the changelings?!" Big Wig protested.
"And those slaughter houses the meat-eaters call restaurants?!" Lilac piped. "What will the foals think?!"
"Town hall is over, come again tomorrow." Celestia quickly said, ushering the two mares out with her wings.
"But-" Lilac and Big Wig both began.
The white alicorn slammed the castle doors in her magic behind her. She nearly collapsed then and there. Couldn't these ponies think for themselves? She remembered back in the days before Nightmare Moon when the ponies were a powerful and independent race fully capable of taking care of themselves and making their own decisions. Perhaps she had been pampering them too much; the scare of war might just be exactly what her helpless citizens needed to whip themselves back into shape. Maybe she could release another prisoner from Tartarus; Tirek had been more than willing to help the last time- in exchange for more comfortable accommodations and an enchanted never-ending movie supply- but freeing the centaur again would be just too suspicious.
She then remembered the rumors of a 'Storm King' she had yet to dispel, and wondered if there was a way she could grab his attention. Maybe a powerful magical artifact would do it? And of course there was the matter of Discord and Thorax to consider, who would no doubt interfere if their friends were in danger. But she was sure that was nothing the royal treatment and a few thousand bits couldn't fix. As long as she assured no harm came to Fluttershy, Discord would not intervene. And she was sure she could find... other ways, to persuade Thorax. Changelings still fed on love after all, and who's love was greater for her citizens than Celestia's love itself? And she knew it was nothing Twilight couldn't handle; too many times had the purple mare taken down each villain Celestia had threw at her. It was a teacher's job to let their student grow, and the best way to do that was through experience.
Her sister had been more than too easy to fool into believing the stars had guided her back home; after all, who had controlled those stars in Luna's stead? Discord was more than willing to help, jumping at the chance to impress his old crush so long as she swore to have the Elements of Harmony release him within the next few seasons. Queen Chrysalis only needed a little tip from an 'anonymous source' that there was a secret passageway up to the castle through the crystal tunnels, and then a little false bravado after a show of her oh-so-unbeatable power. Sombra just did his own thing, as he always had done, but a little help from a certain white-coated princess hiding the Crystal Heart had helped with that. And finally, Tirek just had wanted a comfortable couch, a modern restroom, and something to do for the next few thousands years until everypony but the alicorns themselves had forgotten about his existence and Celestia could make another deal with him. The centaur was really interested in the 'Daring Do' and 'Harry Trotter' series after all, maybe the solar princess would even be nice and send him the complete set for his birthday.
Celestia shook that thought from her head, she'd have to come up with a plan involving this 'Storm King' within the next moon. For now, she had something else to worry about.
"Luna!" Celestia called out over their telepathic bond.
To her surprise, she found that Luna had blocked off their link. That could mean only two things. Either Luna was plotting something behind her back again, or she had discovered more of those dirty magazines the staff kept 'accidentally' leaving out in the halls frequented by the lunar princess. Celestia prayed it was the former.
The regal pony trot down the corridor to Luna's room, thinking of her nefarious schemes to strengthen her little ponies. The strange thing was, Celestia didn't feel guilty at all. And why should she? She was the literal embodiment of the sun itself; the very heavens obeyed her command. She had seen plenty of deities come and go, they were little more comparable to the falling and regrowth of leaves to the likes of her. And not a single one of them had ever been anywhere near powerful enough to beat the solar princess. Only Faust herself could pose such a threat, and she had disappeared long before Celestia had ever risen to power. There simply wasn't a being in existence that could threaten her kingdom- with the exception of the lunar princess herself- many that had tried to conquer her before quickly learned that lesson. And those that didn't? Well, a little magical rainbow blast had always put them in their place.
She suddenly reached Luna's door. Making sure to knock loudly and make her presence known, Celestia announced herself. "Luna? Luna, it's your favorite sister!"
Celestia waited for Luna's ritualistic, "You're my only sister".
When it did not come the older alicorn frowned. "Lulu, we need to talk. You promised."
She was met by only silence. The solar princess began to grow agitated. With a glow from her horn she cast a heat detection spell over the room, only to find it absent of any heat signature other than Luna's pet opossum, Tiberius. Celestia narrowed her eyes and with a focused magic blast forced her way into her sister's room.
The solar princess could take on any villain. She could handle countless hours of bureaucracy. She could put up with snobby nobles. She could even smile for days on end; she had once gotten her face stuck in a grin. But there was one thing that Celestia could not and would not tolerate, her beloved little sister lying to her.
Celestia raced into Luna's room on wings of flame; literally, her wings and mane were actually on fire. She practically slammed Tiberius against the wall in her magic.
"Where. Is. She?" The borderline Daybreaker demanded of the terrified rodent.
Tiberius pointed at the incantation circle and mountain of books behind her with a shaky claw.
Celestia gently pat the opossum on his head, and let her magic carry him over to his bed. She then popped in a piece of cake in front of him as both an apology and a thank you. She then walked over to the incantation circle, which even at a distance she could make out as Draconian magic. The solar princess stepped over a puddle of long-since dried spilled ink and a few broken quills along her way. Really, Luna was over a five-thousand years old. Surely at some point she should have learned to pick up after herself.
The older alicorn picked up a few of the books in her magic and scanned over the titles; 'Draconian for Dummies', 'Texts and Translations', 'A History of Dragon Culture; as told from the perspective of a dragon', 'You Can Read; Draconian, volume one'.
Celestia raised an eyebrow in confusion. Now why would Luna be so interested in learning the Draconian language? Perhaps it was to further Equestria's trade and friendship with the Dragon Lands, but that still wouldn't explain why she was missing. Then the older princess caught sight of a book set apart from the others, she had to translate the title from old-ponish to new-ponish, which she quickly pulled over to her; 'Dragicae; the complete old-ponish translation of all known dragon spells, incantations, and magic crafts. By Star Swirl the Bearded & Dragon Lord Belserion'. Celestia frowned. Her sister reading one of their old mentor's books; just what exactly was that pony up to? The alicorn lit her horn up, attempting to cast a memory spell that would show her just exactly what had went on in her sister's room starting with this morning; but her magic failed.
The regal pony cursed. Luna had no doubt cast a time-lapse blockage spell over the area. Well, there went that idea. She could cast an animal-speech spell on Tiberius, but she rather despised having conversations with rodents. They were so, one-sided. Celestia sighed and began to shuffle through the books and notes, looking for more clues. She recognized the sloppy horn-writing of her sister anywhere; and assumed the much neater, more cursive, horn-writing belonged to her apprentice.
The solar princess plopped down onto Luna's plush bed- it was definitely softer than hers, and she would have to have Raven take note to order the older alicorn a new one- and began to sort through the plethora of parchments. Although, she couldn't help but to feel as if she was forgetting something important. Something, to do with the gryphons. Something, family related. Celestia shook her head and deleted that thought from her mind. Half of her was focused on the task ahead of her, and the other half planning out the scolding lecture she was going to give Luna when she saw her next.
Faust help that poor mare. Royalty or not, they were still sisters and Celestia would stop at nothing to see her sister safe and punished for her irresponisbility.

***

The Colossus bumbled forward. The other monsters in its path were quick to get out of its way; and those that didn't, met a flat end. The hulking beast paid no attention to its brethren, squashed or otherwise. It simply slowly lumbered on with mindless intent. Never stopping, never diverging from the path. 
Its body was a living fortress, a moving castle; walls of pure muscle, skin warped into columns, bone carved out into a tower upon the mountain that was its back, mound upon mound of flesh carefully sculpted into an architectural masterpiece. And like a palace, within its hardened skin lie various corridors that led off into different rooms. It loomed far above the other monsters, who weaved under and around its gargantuan form. From atop a nearby cliff and from behind a cluster of crystals- having discarded their disguise- peeked out four different pairs of eyes; one ruby, one emerald, one sapphire, and one amber.
"Remind me just how exactly you convinced me this was a good idea?!" Sound-Off hissed.
"I thought this would be our best approach, to take to our destination a personal coach." Zecora answered.
"I still say this is crazy!" Vinyl Scratch exclaimed. "This is crazy right?!"
"It's beyond crazy," Scarlet Thorn agreed before continuing with, "but crazy is all we have right now."
"And just what happens to crazy ponies?!" The dragoness demanded. "They get locked up! That is the last thing we want to do right now!"
"No, the last thing we want is to be noticed by our foes. Now prepare yourself for we can't be late, a single mistake can seal our fates. Now do we remember the plan, or should I go over it again?" Zecora asked.
"Yeah, I carry Scarlet and you take Sound-Off, we jump onto that thing's back as it passes by, and then make our way to the top all without being noticed by the other monsters." Vinyl recalled with a roll of her eyes. "What could possibly go wro-"
Sound-Off suddenly clamped her claws over the pony's mouth. "Don't say that! Never say that! You don't tempt fate! You just don't!"
"Well excuse me." Vinyl grumbled, swatting away the reptile's claws.
"Hurry, we have not time for any more queries!" Zecora suddenly interrupted. "We cannot miss our train, or otherwise all will be in vain!"
"This is a really, really, really stupid idea." Scarlet muttered underneath her breath before turning to Vinyl. "Ready?"
"Define ready?" The unicorn huffed out, wincing slightly as she pushed herself up.
The pegasus looked at Vinyl's ankle worriedly. Where the Vanished had bit into her flesh back at the river was a swollen lump of spliced muscles and bloodied skin. It looked incredibly painful, and it was miracle that the blue-maned pony had been able to keep going for so long.
"Are you sure you can support both our weights?" Scarlet inquired. "You're hurt."
Vinyl looked to where her friend was pointing, slowly raising her hind hoof. "Oh buck, I totally forgot about that. Oh sweet Faust that doesn't look good."
"Oh dear, that wound looks like something to fear." Zecora trot over to Vinyl, analyzing her injury with concerned eyes. "Are you sure you are not affected? It appears to be infected."
Not only was the bite still leaking blood, but now it was oozing a seemingly endless amount of puss as well. The wound itself was deep, although the Vanished's deadly bite had just grazed her Achilles tendon. Still, when Vinyl put pressure on it the gash squirted out red and yellow.
"Oh buck!" The unicorn cursed through grit teeth as her hoof touched the ground. "What in Tartarus?! It wasn't this bad a few minutes ago!"
"And it definitely wasn't that bad when you rescued us from the river." Scarlet noted.
"Hmm. It's quite possible that because of the Vanished's rotted bite, an infection had spread unnaturally quick and caused this blight." The striped shaman theorized. "I know of a few Zebrafrican beasts whose fangs and claws will do the same, and the wound must be treated as soon as possible to prevent the limb from becoming lame."
"But what about mom?" Sound-Off piped worriedly. "She was bitten too!"
"Ah, yes. But she was treated immediately so the effect was far less." Zecora explained, reaching into her bag and pulling out a bottle of a thick, olive-green, almost chunky, paste. "Luckily with me I have a healing salve that will do for a quick fix, a special brew and a zebra trick!"
With the skill that only an experienced and respected shaman could have, the zebra quickly cleaned the wound with some water from her flask and an old tattered rag- causing Vinyl to flinch- before applying the salve in one swift swirling motion and then finished with a rapid wrapping of gauze.
Vinyl gave her an impressed whistle. "I've never seen anypony work so fast!"
"Much battle and many wars I have seen, plenty of bloodshed and slaughter for my talents to glean." Zecora stated, a solemn and haunted look in her eyes.
"Sorry I asked." The unicorn murmured, catching sight of the zebra's hollow gaze.
The ground below them suddenly began to quake, the force of the tremors causing the ponies, zebra, and dragoness to fight to keep their balance.
Sound-Off held onto the pegasus mare's leg. "It's here!"
"That would be our cue!" Zecora exclaimed. "It is time to move!"
The behemoth beast had begun its approach. It stumbled towards them, eyes straight ahead and oblivious to their presence. The assassin quickly swooped Sound-Off onto her back, backing down the cliff and preparing for a running jump.
"Are you sure you can do this?!" Scarlet shouted over the intense rumblings.
"Yeah!" Vinyl turned to her with a confident and sincere smile. "I know we've really only just met, but you can trust me!"
The silver-maned pony nodded her head before clambering up onto Vinyl's scarred back. "I trust you!"
"Hey, I've already saved your life twice! You better trust me!" Vinyl laughed out as she turned tail and joined Zecora near the midpoint of the cliff incline.
"It hasn't been a good day for me!" Scarlet admitted.
"What are you talking about?!" Vinyl challenged. "You've met me, and by what I can figure out Zecora too! I'd say today is going great!"
"No more time for chatter!" The aforementioned zebra suddenly yelled. "It is time for us to scatter!"
Sound-Off wrapped her arms around Zecora's neck in a choke hold. "This is still a really bad idea! You are all crazy!"
"Well if we weren't, this probably wouldn't work!" The unicorn exclaimed before breaking into a full gallop- at least as fast as she could muster with her injured ankle- and racing towards the bluff's edge.
Zecora shot forward, a bullet on four hooves. The reptile screamed in surprise and fear from the striped rocket's launch.
"JUMP!" Zecora shouted just as the Colossus's flesh citadel towered above and in front of them.
Both the mares suddenly put all of their strength into their back legs, and leapt into the air.
The wind spread underneath of them, cooling their fur- scales in the reptile's case- and drying out their eyes. Time seemed to slow down to impossible lengths. The world around them came to a jolting halt. This was it, do or die. Even when faced with death before, at least then they had the option of fighting back. Here, in the air, nothing to catch them, no guarantees of survival, was both exhilarating and an unrivaled panic.
Zecora suddenly slammed against the titanic monster's flesh. She skidded on the near-polished skin of a flesh-sculpted balcony- complete with a little fence made of bone- and slammed against a pillar; she scrambled up onto her hooves, until she managed to find steady balance in the quaking floor. Sound-Off had been thrown from her back by the impact, and was now lying dazed a few feet away. Vinyl, meanwhile, had mistimed the jump and was now plummeting alongside the monster's massive barrel.
"Hang on!" The unicorn called out to her passenger, struggling to ignite her horn. It flickered on and off, like a dying bulb in a bad flashlight.
"I am, I am!" Scarlet insisted from the mare's back.
The blue-maned mare's horn suddenly lit up with a tremendous flash and popping sparks. The pegasus's body began to feel airy, as if she was a feather caught in the wind. Her eyes were then spontaneously blinded by a magenta flash. When the light died out she and Vinyl had crashed on the balcony of flesh near the assassin and her apprentice.
"That," Vinyl panted. "was close."
"Three times! Three times in one day!" Scarlet exclaimed, sinking into Vinyl's blood-clumped fur.
Sound-Off rubbed her head as she pushed herself up, using the pillar as support. She then gasped. "Um, mom, you might want to see this!"
The three turned to the dragoness, who stood against a grand entryway into the flesh labyrinth. Scarlet picked herself off of Vinyl, and walked over to Sound-Off; her jaw dropped upon joining the reptile. "Oh my."
"What is it that you have discovered? Something vital I wonder?" Zecora inquired, trotting up to the pony and dragoness. She took the remaining Luminous Gem- other than the two around her and Sound-Off's necks, and not including the ones the dragoness had in her quiver- from her saddlebag, holding it high into the air. "Oh my that is definitely of relevance, this is of the greatest concern and most dreadfulness."
Vinyl squinted into the tenebrous yawning orifice in front of her. "Whoa."
In front of them lie a long corridor, not at all dissimilar to the ones in Canterlot Castle, except this one split off into the shape of a T. The quartet walked down the massive hall, hooves and claws clicking against the floor. They were surprised to find that the same roots from outside grew inside of the Colossus's body, forming columns and arching buttresses. Scarlet trot up to a jagged throne at the center of the T; it was easily four times her size in height, and made from bone and crystal growths.
"A seat of spires, crystal, and bone. I am curious to know more about this throne." Zecora versed as she joined the pegasus mare's side. "Luckily for us these halls are empty, I doubt we'd want to meet the throne's occupant and their assembly. Though that does beg the question of where did they go, but it is best that we do not know."
"Hey, look at me!" Vinyl called out, having clambered up onto the throne. "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!"
"What do you think you're doing?!" Sound-Off exclaimed, claws against her head. "Get down from there!"
"Oh come on," Vinyl rolled her eyes. "what's going to happen?"
The crystals on the throne suddenly lit up the same color as Vinyl's magic; glowing veins of magenta rippled from the chair, sending bolts of light throughout every corridor in the Colossus's body. The throne room was soon illuminated in dark-pink. The unicorn herself was suddenly cocooned in an aura of her own magic, the glow as bright as a star. The energy in the air was so thick and powerful that it tore at the zebra's mane and the pegasus's hair and fragile feathers.
"This is why we don't tempt fate!" Sound-Off yelled through her elbow.
All of the light suddenly retracted back to the throne like the rearing head of a startled snake. As the magic flowed back the bolts violently struck Vinyl before the sphere of magic suddenly exploded and dropped the mare to the seat below.
Scarlet moved her hoof away as the light died down, and then she gasped before galloping to the unicorn's side. "Vinyl! Vinyl your horn!"
"My- my wha?" The disorientated mare groaned out.
Zecora's eyes widened and her ears folded back. "Oh dear! That is rather queer! Vinyl your horn has begun to grow in a sickle, and it appears rather quite brickle!"
"My horn?" Vinyl grunted out, her eyes rolling upwards but unable to perceive the bone growth with only half sight.
Sound-Off pushed herself off of the floor, her tired and shaking legs barely able to hold her weight. She sharply inhaled at the sight of Vinyl's horn. "Oh by Dragon Lord Torch's massive rear!"
Vinyl's horn had suddenly sprouted upwards in the shape of a crescent with long jagged cracks; from her forehead sprouted a crown of eight much smaller horns, which encircled the larger one. The horn itself seemed to radiate a powerful magic, crackling frequently from bursts of lightning.
The mare frowned, and moved a hoof over to the growth. "What is it?"
Zecora suddenly pulled out from the depths of her bag a hoof-held mirror, lowering it so Vinyl could see. "Your horn appears to have grown, a trait that is surely shown. Perhaps it is not for me to say, but it isn't normal to have a wreath of horns like a lei. Nor should a unicorn's horn grow curved as a hook, this is the most abnormal of looks."
"What the buck?" Vinyl murmured, gingerly rubbing the bone growth; at least it didn't hurt anymore. "How did- Why- What happened?"
"Never something like this have I seen, and Zecora's eyes are the most keen." The zebra returned the mirror to her bag, and put a hoof up to her chin as she leered at the horn. "The reason why is because of that throne as your magic it did evoke, no other cause comes of the knowledge I can convoke."
"I wonder if Gallant would know about something like this?" Sound-Off wondered aloud, observing the unicorn. "How do you feel Vinyl?"
"Fine, I guess." The blue-maned mare stated in shock, pushing herself up. "I mean, I don't feel any pain. If anything, I actually feel stronger."
"Stronger?" Scarlet inquired, helping the mare up onto her hooves.
"Yeah! Let me try something!" Vinyl suddenly lit up her horn, and a similar magenta aura began to rapidly engulf the silver-maned mare next to her. 
The angel-winged pony felt a sudden tingling sensation envelop her body. The warm light began to spread from the tip of her ears to the toe of her hoof. She felt her hooves leave the ground as the magic lifted her into the air. The magic soon faded away, and gently deposited the mare back onto the ground of flesh. Her splint and sling suddenly fell away, hitting the flesh below with a soft thud. All and every sign that she had ever fought against the Vanished were gone- scratches, bruises, gashes, the broken and displaced bones- even her mane and tail had been restored to their original length. The bewildered pegasus then gently lifted her back hoof.
"What?" Scarlet Thorn swiftly circled around. "My leg! It- it doesn't hurt anymore! And my foreleg, look! I can move it!"
Zecora and Sound-Off stared at the white-coated pegasus with mouths agape, but ultimately it was the dragoness who turned to Vinyl. "How did you do that?!"
"I- I don't know!" Vinyl admitted, surprised herself. "I mean, I felt stronger, but not like, too strong. That was really weird! It didn't even feel like a lot of magic! I was just trying out an apprentice-level healing spell, but wow!"
The pegasus suddenly threw herself at the other pony. "That's amazing! Thank you Vinyl! I can actually run now. And if I can run, I can fight!"
Scarlet swung her scythe from her back to out in front of her, quick as a whip. A scarily gleeful look in her eyes warned her companions to keep their distance as she slashed at the air in chaotic strikes. The scorpion had its sting back.
"Okay," Vinyl backed away from the pegasus a good distance. "remind me never to make her angry."
"Hmm, this is quite the anomaly. Your horn and magic reserve itself seems to have been affected by this Vanished colony." Zecora theorized, still entranced with the mare's new horn.
"I've read that few unicorns have ascended into a higher state from the mass magic accretion!" Sound-Off elaborated. "I remember when I was a hatchling, Gallant would read to me from this old book of fairy-tales. There was this story about a colony of unicorns who got trapped in a cave during a winter storm. At the end of the story, the unicorns' magic grew so powerful under the guidance of their powerful and brave leader, Twilight Rosario, that they became something else entirely!"
"Alicorns?" Vinyl enthusiastically asked, excitedly checking her back for a grand pair of wings.
"No, they didn't become alicorns." The reptile responded, feeling guilty upon seeing Vinyl's dejected face. "They just became, stronger."
"I am curious about this tale, would you kindly give me the name of this spell?" Zecora inquired.
"Yeah. It's called, 'The Tale of the Carnes ad Vescendum Conferunt, Midsummer Dream and Morning Star'. It was my favorite story growing up!" Sound-Off exclaimed as she fondly recalled the story.
"I am surprised that this tale you can so clearly recap, your mind must be like a steel trap!" The assassin commended.
Sound-Off put a claw to the back of her head and shyly laughed. "Um, yeah. I have photographic memory, I can remember just about everything since my hatching day."
"Jeez, that's pretty amazing!" Vinyl exclaimed, "I can't even remember much of what happened a year ago! Partially because of too many black-out nights, but still, that's bucking amazing!"
"No, what's amazing is your magic! You healed mom!" Sound-Off pointed out. "The only other pony I know with such powerful healing spells is Gallant, but he's had years of training and experience!"
"But what do we do now?" Vinyl asked, rubbing her horn again. The growth felt alien to her, yet somehow like it should have always been that way as well.
"Now?" Zecora smiled, watching the pegasus go through her practice routine. "We may finally rest as time has allowed. We have a non-the-wiser natural guide, so sit back and enjoy the ride."

***

Outside, the Colossus continued its slow but steady gait towards the Tree of Chaos. Blissfully unaware of the stowaways within its flesh, perhaps even unaware of everything around it.
But one Vanished wasn't so oblivious. It's single eye had seen the flash of magenta light coming from within the titan's hump. From behind, it followed after the Colossus; although it was sure to keep its distance from those careless hooves. Just then, the Vanished stumbled upon a hollowed out corpse of one of its brethren. It sniffed the mangled coat. Pony.
One-Eye narrowed its one eye, a growl forming from deep within its throat. It would find the ponies that did this to it; these ponies that almost killed its mate, and. Make. Them. Pay. The mutated gryphon's eye fell back onto the Colossus, before the monster began to run after it. Even if it had to do it alone.
> Hello to Hell (11)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sound-Off followed Zecora as she explored the maze of corridors within the flesh palace. The dragoness made sure to always be within an arms length of her mentor, not at all looking to become separated and lost in these dark halls.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump. 
The echo of the Colossus's heartbeat drummed from the depths of the darkness. The rhythm was steady, although slow. As the apprentice and master continued to trek deeper into the tunnel, the beating grew ever-so-slightly louder.
"Shouldn't we be heading back now?" Sound-Off asked, looking nervously at the walls surrounding them as if she expected a Vanished to pop-out. "I mean, mom and Vinyl must miss us terribly by now and we wouldn't want to get lo- lost."
With enthusiasm that could put Twilight Sparkle to shame, Zecora answered with, "Steady yourself little one, you are shaking. Our exploration has just begun, this is a discovery in the making! As a scholar in architecture and cartography, such elegant designs and beautiful constructions make this zebra very happy!"
"I don't think beautiful and elegant are the right words here. Maybe in that macabre sort of way, but I think the words you're looking for are eerie and revolting." Sound-Off countered.
The assassin and reptile had reconnoitered the twisting corridors for almost half an hour now; with the slow pace that the Colossus was going and since the Tree of Chaos was apparently a lot further than it appeared to be, Sound-Off estimated it would be approximately another hour. Zecora had suggested that she and Sound-Off patrol the halls built into the Colossus's flesh meanwhile. Sound-Off, of course, was less than ecstatic about the idea. But it was a chance for her to spend time with and get to know her soon-to-be mentor better; mind over matter after all.
Zecora, meanwhile, just continued to trot merrily along. "Such designs remind me of the catacombs of Prance! Bone piled upon bone in a debonair fashion that leaves one in a trance! The only difference would be the lack of skulls, making these halls a little more dull."
Sound-Off did not think of their surroundings as debonair; arching buttresses of bone loomed above their heads, almost like some sort of giant spider. The flesh walls were sculpted into multiple swirls and occasionally interrupted by growths of bone; Sound-Off had a developed fear of swirls after reading Juneberry Ito's manga, but now that fear was also tied in with the eyes of the Vanished. The pillars of cracked skin stretched upwards into the darkness, jiggling in the slightest with every step the Colossus took. But what unnerved her the most were the blackened and blistered roots growing from the monster's body. The roots, which not only hung or grew from random places, also formed furniture such as chandeliers, small tables, sofas, and even statues that looked suspiciously like a certain blue-maned unicorn DJ. But other than these occasional items the halls were empty, save for Zecora and Sound-Off themselves.
"So Zecora," Sound-Off began, anxiously trailing the zebra's hoofsteps as they passed another statue. "that stuff you put on Vinyl was pretty impressive. You must know a lot about apothecary?"
If Zecora was annoyed by the sudden change in topic, she gave no indication. "Oh? Of herbs and natural medicines do you not know? Among our ability to create clever disguises, talents in healing and curing are in what zebra kind characterizes. But our knowledge does not stretch out into the infinite vast, there was a time not so long ago that upon me a sickness I have never seen was cast! Have you ever heard of a disease called Swamp Fever? Before then I had heard of it neither!"
Sound-Off vaguely remembered Gallant muttering that there had been one such outbreak at Ponyville Hospital right after somepony or another had brought the highly-contagious and little-known disease into their town. "I don't know much about Swamp Fever really, but I do remember Gallant mumbling to himself about it. I guess disease and epidemics have always been low on my reading list."
"Ah, then allow me to share with you what I had learned. At least where Swamp Fever is concerned." Zecora stated, her voice becoming somewhat monotone and lecture-ry. "This sickness is caused by an orange-spotted flower, blue in coloration, with large leaves, and a sickly-sweet smell that is rather sour. Upon being covered in the dust that this plant does produce, horrid symptoms it does induce."
The young dragoness went over a mental list of all the flora she had cataloged during her travels with her patriarch, but no such result matching the zebra's description popped up. "The only blue flower that I can think of with such consequences is Poison Joke, but that's more so classified as a hybrid between a weed and ivy."
"These flowers are definitely not Poison Joke, and death is the only intent it evokes. For you see, those afflicted with the disease become a virus-spreading tree!" The shaman declared, and the reptile gulped. "First the ill shall be covered in orange spots, then they will sprout branches and leaves, all before being hit by a terrible cough! The cough is to be accompanied by bubbles, and when you start to sneeze bolts of lightning you are in trouble! These symptoms sound random and silly I know, but that has to do with how these evil plants first came to grow."
"How did it come to grow?" Sound-Off curiously inquired. As much as the revelation of turning into a death-flower carrying tree frightened her, she was just as equally fascinated with the idea.
Zecora, surprisingly, smiled. "Although at first the origin of the flower admittedly left me floored, after much research I learned that it was something created by the chaotic Discord!"
Sound-Off rolled her eyes; that didn't surprise her. "Okay, so the spirit of chaos made-up some evil flower that makes you do everything but fart rainbows. Couldn't he just fix it with a snap of his, claw, paw, or tail, or whatever?"
"It isn't as easy as you think, from Discord's imprisonment to now has been no blink. The flower is apart from his control, time has turned it feral and taken its toll." The zebra explained.
"Then how did it manage to spread so far?" Sound-Off asked. "I mean, I get that those afflicted become trees when they die, but trees don't bloom overnight. Even magic ones. And I doubt the dead all of the sudden turn into full grown trees either."
"Indeed this is where you are right, even these trees cannot grow into maturity overnight." Zecora parroted. "For you see before the ill perish, they are overwhelmed by a sudden desire to return to where the tree does flourish! Back to the bayou do they go, and into the water is where the new trees do sough."
The dragoness grimaced at the image of a pony, or dragon for that matter, befalling such a horrid fate as to lose recognition of themselves and their desires; they were basically real-life zombies! While alive they infected everypony or creature the sick came in contact with, and even in death they continued to spread the disease. She shuddered, thinking of a sweet yellow mare she knew only in passing- the reptile still wasn't allowed within three-hundred feet of her cottage after the 'Bunny Incident'- who had ironically once told her- the same day of said incident coincidentally- that she would have liked to be a tree.
"So anything that gets covered in this pollen just dies? Then what's the cure? There has to be one, since you're still alive." Sound-Off pointed out.
"Luckily the cure was found by my friend Fluttershy, without her kindness and resilience I surely would have died. And the cure is actually quite surprising, found in the-" Zecora was suddenly interrupted by a loud echoing scream.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The scream came from the direction of the throne room. Zecora's ears perked up; her and Sound-Off looked at each other with fear and surprise.
"That sounded like mom!" Sound-Off shouted, spinning around and running back down the direction they came. "Let's hurry!"
Zecora nodded her head, swooping up the dragoness onto her back once more- much to the reptile's deprecation- and took off at such a speed that it would have given Rainbow Dash, or any of the Wonderbolts for that matter, a run for their bits.

***

Scarlet Thorn screamed as the gryphon Vanished dug its massive claws into her sides; its talon was so huge that it could fit around the pegasus's entire middle.
Vinyl Scratch shook off her daze, and pushed herself off the floor. "Hey ugly!"
One-Eye swung its head around.
"That's my friend you've got there!" The unicorn mare screamed.
Vinyl's horn suddenly flared with a fantastic flash, letting loose a cannon-fire of light in the infinite surrounding darkness. One-Eye's singular eye widened, and the monster leapt off of the silver-maned pony just barely dodging the blast.
Scarlet rolled over onto her hooves, wincing as she did so. "Thanks Vinyl."
"No pony messes with my friends and gets off easy." The DJ stated, helping her up.
They turned to face One-Eye, who had skidded and landed across the corridor. The Vanished stood rigidly on the polished flesh floor, a snarl on its beak. Scarlet whipped her scythe out in front of her, and Vinyl recharged her spell. One-Eye suddenly charged forward like a bolt of lightning, sliding underneath the unicorn's magic blast; however, it didn't anticipate the pegasus's attack from above. As soon the spell passed over the gryphon's head, Scarlet crashed atop of the beast and dug her scythe into its spine.
One-Eye screeched in pain, beginning to buck and writhe in an attempt to shake the mare off. The white mare held onto the handle for dear life, the horrible rotting flesh smell emitting from the half-rotten living corpse invading her nostrils. Vinyl aimed her horn at One-Eye, and let loose another spell. This time the magic formed into the shape of a spear and rocketed towards the monster. One-Eye anticipated the bolt of magic, beginning to run towards the unicorn as she fired off bolt after bolt. Scarlet suddenly yanked her scythe and leaned hard to the right, the Vanished was forced into a pillar and its single wing was torn from the socket. The mare tugged the blade free with a pop, and then leapt off One-Eye's back just as Vinyl jumped over the monster and it crashed into the throne.
"Mooooooom!" Sound-Off yelled as Zecora thundered into the room.
Zecora saw the beast and gasped. "You again! I see for my friends you have developed a disdain!"
One-Eye clambered onto its feet, growling loudly as it did so. Then it caught site of the dragoness atop the zebra, and its eye held an inferno of rage. The Vanished brought a claw up to its empty eye socket, moving the claw along the base of the socket repeatedly.
"Oh yak dung." Sound-Off squeaked out, feeling the monster's eye scour her soul.
"Oh no you don't!" Scarlet snapped, springing towards the Vanished. "Not my daughter motherbucker!"
"Watch out!" Vinyl called out to the galloping mare.
The pegasus skidded around One-Eye's tail; it struck repeatedly like a snake, the sharp tip glinting in the crystals' dark light. She struck at the air, keeping the tail at bay. One-Eye suddenly spun around and swung its head towards her. Zecora pulled a glass bottle filled with swirling gas from her bag.
"Vinyl, save our mare! Get her out of there!" The zebra demanded.
"On it!" The unicorn confirmed with a nod of her head, her horn engaging in a spell.
Half a second later the pegasus mare was enveloped in a bubble of magenta light and then teleported to Vinyl's side. Unfortunately, having been unprepared for the spell, Scarlet's coat was colored grey with soot and the edges of her mane blackened and singed from the energy needed to create the spell. Scarlet blinked in surprise and coughed out a puff of smoke.
"A warning would have been nice." She grumbled out, shaking the ash from her coat.
Zecora then burst into action, putting herself- and consequently Sound-Off- into the fray.
"Get me off this crazy zebra!" The dragoness wailed as Zecora skid under the Vanished's razor sharp claws.
The zebra suddenly shoved the potion into Sound-Off's claws. "Quick, throw it!"
Sound-Off did as she was told and chucked the glass bottle at One-Eye. A forest green cloud erupted out of the bottle as it exploded against the monster. The gas snaked along its limbs, turning wherever it touched into black crystals. One-Eye began to screech in panic as its middle became stone. It then turned to the quartet- Zecora had just returned to the other two mares' sides- and made a running jump after them. Before the monster could reach them, its body became fully entrapped in the sparkling gem.
CLUNK!
One-Eye fell loudly to the floor, skidding over only to rest at their hooves.
Vinyl cautiously tapped the statue with her hoof. "What the buck was in that potion?!"
Zecora smiled proudly. "Weaponized Cockatrice essence, which can nullify any presence."
Sound-Off jumped off of Zecora's back. "I have to say that I'm impressed Zecora. You knew that the Vanished would move too quickly for the potion to hit, so by giving me the potion you'd be able to get close enough for me to toss it. Not to mention this crystal! I've never seen anything like it!"
"But are you sure it will hold?" Scarlet asked, analyzing the frozen One-Eye from a distance.
"No amount of magic can break this crystal shell, there is no way the monster can escape its cell." Zecora assured.
Vinyl, meanwhile, rubbed her chin thoughtfully as she scrutinized the statue. "Hmm, I feel like its missing something. I know!"
The unicorn focused her horn, and with a flash a handlebar mustache appeared on the gryphon's beak. Vinyl snickered to herself and ignited her horn again, this time a black top hat and a black cape with red lining appeared on the gryphon's head and back respectively.

***

During this, at a certain boutique back in Ponyville, a pure-white unicorn with a gorgeous and well-styled purple mane was pulling one of her all-nighters.
She was currently working on her newest fashion line, inspired by the designs of a fellow designer in spirit for the upcoming Nightmare Night, 'Vastly Villainous' as the unicorn had decided on calling it. True, black, red, white, and orange weren't her favorite colors to work with; at least not especially when using them together. The colors were gaudy, far too edgy for her tastes, and so stereotypical for the holiday season. Nonetheless, she had a quota to fill and trying something new was never a bad thing. Unless it was a green mane, green was a horrid color in her opinion unless paired correctly with another color and if the right fabric was green.
"Rules of Rarity, guaranteed quality." The beautiful mare sang softly to herself as she worked.
She finished the piece that she was working on, turning back to the ponyquin that was holding her work. Or at least, should have been wearing her work. The beautiful silk top hat with the red strap and two orange feathers, as well as the sable velvet cape with the crimson trimming, had disappeared!
The unicorn dropped the chest piece she had been working on with a gasp. "Of all the things that can happen, this is. The. Worst. Possible. Thing!"
The mare then proceeded to faint, but not before a love-seat seemingly appeared out of nowhere underneath her.

***

Vinyl continued to giggle as a pair of googly-eye glasses appeared on the face of the Vanished.
"You do know all these items are coming from somewhere, right?" Sound-Off asked, rather unamused at the unicorn's immaturity.
"Who cares?" Vinyl said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Nopony is going to miss them."
Her horn lit up again and this time a pair of pink frilly butterfly wings appeared strapped to One-Eye's back.
"I don't think this is what you should be using your magic for." Sound-Off grumbled.
"Hey, it's my magic. So I'll do whatever I want with it!" Vinyl stated.
Sound-Off raised an eyebrow. "Zecora? Mom? Are either of you going to say anything?"
Scarlet just smiled as a sock-puppet with a little white and blue baseball cap that featured a pine tree on it flashed onto One-Eye's tail. "She's having fun. Besides,what could possibly go wrong?"
The pegaus's hooves flew to her mouth as she realized what she had just done. Sound-Off's claw smacked against her head.
As if on cue the crystal keeping One-Eye on a non-threat level began to rapidly crack. And when it broke, for whatever reason- maybe Faust just needed a laugh- the Vanished was still wearing the attire Vinyl had dressed it in. On one hoof, yeah One-Eye had escaped. On the other hoof, it was very hard to be afraid of something wearing googly-eyes, butterfly wings, and a sock-puppet, all while dressed as a tie-the-mare-to-the-train-tracks villain.
Vinyl had to suppress a laugh. "I can't, I just can't!"
The unicorn reached into Zecora's bag with her magic, levitating out the mirror. One-Eye stared at its reflection for a moment with something akin to surprise, before a deep growl formed in its throat.
"Vinyl!" Sound-Off hissed as she, Scarlet, and Zecora began to slowly step away. "Get out of there!" 
"Uh-Oh." Vinyl's pupils shrunk as One-Eye gave off a fierce roar and tore off the attire it had been put in.
One-Eye raised a claw at Vinyl, who had been too surprised to ignite her horn, and swung. But before the blow could hit, roots suddenly erupted from the wall. They wrapped around One-Eye just before the monster could tear Vinyl into chunks and shreds.
The roots writhed angrily as they wrapped firmly around the flailing and thrashing Vanished, although One-Eye's struggles were quickly put to a halt by the imprisoning vines. Then they suddenly flew backwards, before making a sharp veering turn, and then racing towards the balcony with the entrapped Vanished still tangled within. The roots flipped upwards upon reaching the edge of the balcony, and One-Eye was sent catapulting across the cavern and into another tunnel where multiple crashings and bangings could be heard as the mutated gryphon tumbled downwards and far-far away.
The quartet of warriors simply stood rigid and confused.
"Um, what just happened?" Sound-Off asked.
"I would tell you if I knew, but I don't actually know." Scarlet mumbled out.
Just then, the roots yanked themselves all the way back into the throne room, U-turning rapidly around with barbed ends pointing straight at Vinyl. The blue-maned pony yelped in surprise, quickly igniting her horn and preparing another fireball. Her companions jumped in, ready to defend their friend. To their great shock and disbelief, the roots jolted to a sudden stop before they could reach them.
"Uh, ooookay. Anypony else think this is weird?" Vinyl inquired.
"What part?" Sound-Off asked, ignoring her rising headache.
"You mean is it weird that these, things," Scarlet decided, cautiously poking a root with her hoof. "aren't trying to rip us apart? Because if so, then yes, I am a little freaked out."
Zecora put a good up to her chin as she studied a root that was thicker than the rest. "Odd indeed how these roots do not seem to pose a threat, and it has something to do with Vinyl I bet."
"Me?" Vinyl inquired. "What could this possibly have to do with me?"
"For this I will need proof to make my stand, so Vinyl, please try to give these roots a command."
Sound-off looked at Scarlet, and the mare only shrugged her shoulders in response.
"S- sure " Vinyl stuttered out, before stating, "Um, roots?"
To everypony's, zebra's, and dragoness's surprise, the nest of vines actually seemed to perk up like the ears of an attentive dog.
Vinyl gulped and let her eyes roll into her skull as she attempted to think of a good command. "I'm- I'm bored!"
Sound-Off slammed her claws into her face, hard enough to leave a red mark. "Ow."
"Yeah, bored. So very bored." Vinyl continued, rolling her eyes at the reptile. "I want something to do. Bring me a game, or something?"
The pegasus gave the other mare the 'really?' look. Her five-year-old colt could come up with a better question than that.
Nonetheless, the roots sprang into action. The jumbled knot loosened itself and shot off in a multitude of directions. Eventually, they reconverged after a few minutes. Wrapped inside of the roots were some bone and crystal, which were fashioned in front of their very eyes into the pieces of a chess set. The smallest of vines then began to weave themselves into the shape of a checkered bored, even lightening certain areas to create the pattern itself.
Sound-Off actually had to rub her eyes just to make sure her sanity hadn't been shattered. "Did- did it just make a chess set for you to play?"
Vinyl carried in her face and drooping jaw the same astonished gaze. "It made a- I think it- Wow, I can't believe- Whoa."
"Whoa is right, and so is Zecora's keen sight." The zebra versed out, giving herself a metaphorical little pat on the back. "It would appear to me that these roots have taken to you quite a liking, I do believe it is from this new magic you are inciting."
"Um, translation?" Vinyl asked.
"I think she means that when you sat on that throne something else happened other than your horn changing." Sound-Off clarified.
Zecora nodded her head in agreement. "That is indeed what I had meant, only with much fewer words spent."
"So what your saying," Scarlet began, trying to put two and two together. "is that when Vinyl sat on the throne.."
"The magic, her magic, was distributed throughout the Colossus and absorbed..." The dragoness continued 
"And thus with this beast you have some kind of bond, and this is why of you it has become so fond." Zecora finished.
"So, what you're saying is, the Colossus is, like, my pet now?" Vinyl deduced.
"In simplest terms yes, the Colossus is your pet." Zecora versed out.
"Ah sweet!" Vinyl exclaimed. "I think I'm going name him, Rover!"
Sound-Off blanched. "You're going to name the Colossus, Rover?"
"Yeah! I mean, every pet needs a name." The unicorn stated, trotting over to the writhing nest of roots and stroking the largest one. "Who's a good gigantic monster? You are! Yes you are!"
The dragoness turned to Scarlet, twirling her claw next to her head. The pegasus couldn't help but to feel as if the reptile was right. "Um, Vinyl?"
"Yeah, what's- Whoa!" Vinyl was suddenly picked up by the roots, which fashioned themselves into a seat for her. "Friendly guy huh?"
Scarlet looked at her friend with concern. "You know that you can't keep it, right?"
Vinyl gasped and put her hooves over a root, as if covering its ears. "Says who?!"
The pegasus's eyebrow raised. "Let me check. Oh right, all of Equestria!"
"Come on, Rover is totally not like those other monsters! He saved our lives!" Vinyl pointed out.
"Fine." Scarlet face-hoofed and rolled her eyes. "How exactly do you plan on getting it out of here, and where are you going to keep it?"
"I'll shrink him! I mean, I can do that now. I think. Probably." Vinyl said.
The pegasus mare just gave in before walking away. "Fine then! I guess you can keep it!"
"Hear that boy?!" Vinyl excitedly asked. "You're coming home with me!"
Scarlet and Sound-Off simply tried to shrug it off. This was, in a sense, the more normal part of their adventure.

***

"I can't believe we've never talked before!" The purple alicorn in front of Cobra Strike exclaimed. "I would have never guessed we have so much in common!"
"Yeah." Cobra Strike halfheartedly responded. "Chess, antiques, and famous parents."
The purple mare giggled. "I know my mother's books have become quite popular in the field of magic studies, and my father, well, I can't remember a day somepony hasn't asked him about what it's like to be the Royal Canterlot librarian and personal over-seer of every spell book ever written in all of history!"
A purple and green dragon leaning sleepily on the arm of his throne sleepily muttered out, "You always say that Twilight, not that it's true."
Twilight Sparkle rolled her royal eyes. "Anyways, I guess it's still only half as interesting as what your parents are doing. How's progress going, you wouldn't happen to know by chance?"
"I wouldn't know." Cobra answered, munching on a stale-ish lemon scone. "It's been a while since the last letter. But from what that last one said, I'd say progress is going well. Slow, but well."
"Well I hope they find her." Twilight stated before levitating a pink teapot up in her magic. "More tea?"
"Haha, of course I'd like more tea!" The pegasus stated through grit teeth.
In reality, Cobra hated tea. It was almost always too strong, and on the rare occasions it wasn't, it was too weak and almost like drinking water left under the sun. But one does not decline tea as a guest, especially if the one hosting just so happens to be an all-powerful alicorn princess.
Luckily for the stallion, a certain pink-coated mare noticed a rather tired looking little pegasus colt at the stallion's side.
"Hey, Twilight?" The mare asked.
"Yes Starlight?" The princess squeaked out.
"Don't you think Black Dawn looks a little tired? It might be past his bedtime." The mare, Starlight, pointed out.
"Oh my goodness! You're right!" Twilight exclaimed upon seeing the barely awake colt.
"Nuh-uh." Black Dawn yawned. "I'm... fine."
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash suddenly chimed in. "You only just got here!"
"Rainbow," Twilight began with a scowl. "Black Dawn here is young, younger than Scoot-a-loo, and while she might be able to stay up this late without any repercussions that are too harsh, Black Dawn needs more sleep and staying up like this could be detrimental to his health!"
"She's right Rainbow Dash." Starlight nodded her head in agreement. "Even Sunburst went to sleep. Although I'm surprised he could sleep at all, I had no idea he was such fan of yours Cobra Strike!"
"I'm just glad that I could make him happy." Cobra said as he excused himself from the table. "Thanks again for letting us borrow your game Starlight. And thank you Princess Twilight for having us over, and for fixing my glasses."
"Oh, haha, Twilight is fine." The alicorn stated to the bowing pegasus. "Please, I'm a pony just like you and everypony else. And its no trouble, It's my pleasure, really. I don't get a lot of visitors. Not since my old home, you know. But really, I'm the one who should feel honored. If I knew I was having such a famous pony over for tea I would have had Spike clean up the place, and my finest tea set imported from Japony washed and put out."
"Come on now. It's like you said, I'm just a regular old pony." Cobra parroted as he stood up.
"A pony with an army of fans who hang onto you're every word!" Twilight chirped out as she swooped up every last tea cup and the surrounding accessories before shoving the load of dishes onto the nearly asleep dragon's lap, who gave off a startled cry. "It must be exciting to have so many loyal fans! I bet they'd believe whatever you told them!"
"Yeah," Starlight huffed out, blowing a lock of stray mane from her face. "can't imagine what that's like."
Black Dawn suddenly yawned again. "Mmm not sleepy."
"Come on," Cobra grunted as he pulled the colt onto his back. "let's go home."
"Noooo!" Black Dawn whined out. "I want to- I wanna... with Princess Twilight. She's- she's... favorite...prince-"
And just like that the colt was out.
Cobra smiled at his sleeping son, leg twitching and wings fluttering as he slept. The older pegasus then took the game under his wing before turning to the three mares. "It's been a pleasure meeting you all. Starlight, Twilight, Spike. Rainbow, I hope the next time we meet it will be on better terms."
The purple dragon grumbled out something as he stumbled across the crystal floor with a mountain of teacups obscuring his vision; Twilight shot him a glare.
She then turned her attention back to the rock star in front of her. "Sorry about that, Spike can be a lit-tle bit grumpy when it gets this late. He still is a baby dragon after all."
Cobra found that hard to believe. From the three hours he had known Spike, the dragon gave him the feeling of maturity and heightened intelligence. It wasn't for the pegasus to say, especially as a guest and to a princess of all ponies, but he couldn't help but to feel as if Twilight was purposefully- knowingly or unknowingly- inhibiting Spike's growth. Cobra Strike shook that thought from his head.
"No, no. Don't worry about it." He said, and then gestured to the colt on his back. "I know all too well what that's like."
Rainbow fluttered next to the sleeping colt. "Aw, how cute is he?!"
Twilight and Starlight turned to the cyan mare in surprise.
"Since when did you start liking foals Rainbow Dash?" Starlight inquired.
Rainbow blushed. "Well I- I never- I mean- Of course- You see... um."
Twilight raised an eyebrow, giving a the mare a smug look that would have made a certain apple farmer proud. She cleared her throat. "Rainbow, have you- have you ever thought about having foals of your own?"
Rainbow's blush deepened as Twilight and Starlight exchanged knowing glances, Cobra, for his part, just snickered. Rainbow glanced quickly around. "I, uh, I have to go feed Tank!"
The mare suddenly shouted before dashing through a window. The window itself shattered into Faust knows how many pieces and Princess Twilight let out a very un-princess-like growl.
"Rainbow! How many times have I told you to use the door?!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Eighteen-hundred and five!" A bubbly voice screamed out from somewhere in town.
Twilight slumped her shoulders in frustration, while Starlight simply gathered the scattered shards in her magic and began to put the window back together. The purple alicorn then remembered she had a guest over and quickly recomposed herself. "It's fine, everything is fine."
Cobra swore he saw her mane begin to curl. "Um, Prince- I mean, Twilight?"
Twilight let out a surprised cry and stumbled into Starlight. The pink mare's turquoise aura dropped, and the pieces of glass fell to the ground only causing them to shatter more. Black Dawn, surprisingly, slept through it all.
"You know what? I'm just going to go. I think I remember where the door is." Cobra stated, beginning to back away. "Thanks again, and take care."
The pegasus then hurried out of the tea room, shutting the door behind him.
As he left, Twilight's left eye began to twitch. "Ugh!"
Starlight jumped a little at the alicorn's cry of frustration. "Come on Twilight, it's not that bad. I can still fix the window."
"It's not the window!" Twilight exclaimed, trotting over to the table and collapsing into her hooves. From her hooves came a muffled reply, "I must have looked like a foal in front of my idol."
"I didn't know you liked rock music. I always thought you'd be into jazz, or classical." Starlight said as she sat herself next to the alicorn. "And I thought Princess Celestia and Star Swirl were your idols?"
"Yeah, in magic!" Twilight shouted. "And I never said I hated rock. In fact, Shining and I use to listen to it together all the time throughout my filly-hood! I just said that I don't like metal."
"You didn't seem overly excited when Rainbow first brought Cobra Strike over." Starlight pointed out.
"Well, yeah!" The purple pony princess proclaimed. "I mean, I know first hoof how perturbing it can be having fans gush over you twenty-four-seven. I figured a normal tea session and being treated like a normal pony is just what he needed. Of course, it didn't help that Sunburst kept asking him personal questions and taking photographs."
"Well somepony gave Sunburst a couple autographs to have him sign." Starlight smirked.
"They're for the girls!" Twilight protested, her face reddening.
Starlight's eyebrow threatened to leap off her face. "Fluttershy doesn't even like rock, you know it scares her right? And remember the entire Countess Coloratura incident? I don't think AJ was too happy about that first performance."
"I'm just being a considerate friend." Twilight retorted, before hiding in her wings.
"Sure you are." Starlight said, not bothering to hide her unconvinced tone. "I mean, you're the Princess of Friendship after all. Oh, and Twilight?"
"What?" The purple mare demanded.
"You're chewing on your mane again." Starlight stated as she trot out of the room.
Twilight spit out her mane, giving out an embarrassed, "Oh."

....

Cobra Strike, in fact, did not remember where the door was. Who would have thought that finding a pair of giant doors would be so difficult? Luckily for him, he just so happened to run into a certain dragon.
"So yeah, that's pretty much how things are around her." Spike said, leading the stallion down the corridors. "Twilight and her friends get to go out on all these fun and crazy adventures, and ol' Spike just has to stay home and do the dishes and reorganize the library."
"Why don't you just ask if you can go with them?" Cobra inquired.
"Because Twilight won't let me." Spike grumbled, crossing his arms. "She thinks that I can't handle myself! This one time, she even followed me to the Dragonlands just because she thought I'd get into trouble with the other dragons!"
"But, you are a dragon. Shouldn't you be fine in the land of dragons?" The pegasus pointed out.
"Exactly!" Spike exclaimed. "I mean, I know that I'm smaller than most dragons! And can't fly. And am weaker. And have fears of dark and creepy places. And- you know what? Never mind. Twilight is right. I can't handle myself."
Cobra frowned. "You know what Spike? I think you're just underestimating yourself."
"Really?" Spike asked with a slight sniffle.
Cobra automatically entered father mode. "Well, what I'm trying to say is this. You are devaluing yourself because other ponies keep treating you like a baby. But they only treat you like that because you let them. And it looks like to me that you actually do more work than you or anypony realizes, work that you're not getting the credit for. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should overestimate yourself either, I'm just saying that you're never going to be appreciated unless you demand it. Same goes for being treated like a baby."
Spike wiped his nose on his arm. "Y- yeah! You're right! From now on I'm a whole new dragon!"
"Spike? Spike!" Twilight's voice echoed off of the crystal walls. 'Where are you Spike?! I need you to get a broom and sweep up all this glass! Starlight and I can't find all the pieces! Oh, and place an order for a new window too! And while you're at it actually, I need more quills! And since I'm getting new quills you might as well place an order for more ink! And speaking of quills I need you check on Owlowlicous! Make sure he has food and water! And change his newspapers if he needs it!"
"Coming! Just let me get my apron!" Spike shouted, before turning back to Cobra Strike. "Take the next hall on your left, then the second hall to your right, make another left at the bust of Celestia, and then you'll reach the main hall where the doors are."
"Thanks. And don't forget to mention to Twilight that you feel as if you're not getting enough credit!" The pegasus called out as the dragon ran off.
"I wo-" He was interrupted by another yell.
"SPIKE!" Twilight demanded.
Spike gave off a panicked cry and began to move double-time. Cobra just gave the purple and green dragon a sympathetic look before shaking his head. Someponies, and dragons, just couldn't be helped. The pegasus thought as he continued to trot down the crystal corridor, repeating Spike's instructions in his head.

***

The Colossus staggered forward, following into procession behind the line of Vanished. The Tree of Chaos loomed above even the Colossus itself; jagged and withered branches reaching and stretching into the infernal darkness towards the top of the pit.
Scarlet's heartbeat followed every other step of the Colossus's front right hoof, and she felt sure that it would stop completely by the time they reached the tree. She instinctively began to stumble back, but a hoof caught her. She turned to see Vinyl smiling softly at her.
"Hey, don't worry." The unicorn stated. "We'll be fine."
The pegasus did her best to smile in return, but her efforts were minimal at best. She turned her attention back to the tree as Rover, as Vinyl insisted they call him, drew closer to the tree's hollow. The tree itself was unimaginably huge, the pegasus never would have guessed that something so colossal could have ever existed underground. It was big enough to fit Canterlot at least ten times over in it, that is, if each Canterlot was stacked atop another.
The tree seemed to leer down at them, radiating an ugly presence that infected all and everything that gazed upon it.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
A faint heartbeat interrupted the still air. As they passed through the threshold of the tree, the beats grew louder.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump. 
Zecora and Sound-Off joined them at the balcony.
The dragoness shivered, her body wracked by chills. "M- mom?"
"I'm here." Scarlet assured, pulling the reptile over to her.
Even Zecora looked nervous, she shuffled her hooves anxiously and rubbed the golden bracelets around her foreleg. No words came from her mouth, and she took a swig of whiskey from a flask hidden in her cloak.
The inside of the tree was surprisingly well-lit by crystal growths, illuminating the hundreds of Vanished in gory and gruesome detail. A total of fifteen Vanished, with Lily Lace included, were carrying in their jaws one to two ponies each downwards into a pit. At the bottom of the pit lie a vast lake.
The lake, as black and thick as tar, spread along the basin. Roots, the same as outside, drank from the foul substance before snaking along the ground and up the tree's insides. At the heart of the roots, suspended above the vile lake in a cradle of tangled roots, lie an actual heart. Encased in a sac of crystal, the heart dimmed and brightened as it beat. Shapes moved about the fluid separating the flesh heart from its crystal case, blurred by the structure they remained nothing but shadows moving like flickers of flame. That is, until one shape slammed against the crystal. The screaming face of a pony was revealed, withered away into a skeletal state and eyeless sockets wide with panic and untold terror. The pony weakly tapped at its prison before being whisked away by the endless wave of shapes. Souls. The demonic heart was bathing in souls.
It suddenly grew cold; cold was an understatement really, the temperature dropped so much so that the bubbling liquid in the basin actually began to frost over. Scarlet's, Vinyl's, and Zecora's fur stood completely upright from the radiating hatred suddenly permeating the air, while Sound-Off's spikes began to ache. The heart suddenly began to shine in a dark glow.
"Step forth, my brood!" A deep voice rumbled out, as gravelly and as ancient as the stone around them.
The voice stopped their hearts and snatched their breaths. Grim Noise was here.
> Et Dividant Vinceret (12)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scarlet Thorn, Sound-Off, Vinyl Scratch, and Zecora stood rigid on the flesh balcony.
Around them the congregation of Vanished broke out into a roaring applause; hisses, growls, snarls, squawks, and grating cries filled the air.
Once the cacophony quieted Grim Noise spoke again. "Welcome my brood, to the coronation of your queen!"
A cluster of roots underneath of the heart split apart to reveal an unconscious unicorn mare. Her coat was light-blue, and her mane alternated from paled turquoise to bluish-ish white. Around her neck loosely  hung a purple star-spangled coat, and on her head a matching hat.
"Trixie?!" Sound-Off gasped out in surprise, easily recognizing the boastful mare.
Scarlet nudged her, and moved a wing over her mouth.
"This mare," Grim Noise continued. "has been given an opportunity. Since her mind first reached out to me upon placing my amulet on her chest, I have explored her dreams and deepest desires and seen into the truest aspects of her soul."
He paused, waiting for the rallying cries to calm before continuing.
"In it, I see darkness. In it, I see hatred. In it, I see envy. And in it I see power! And we shall not feel need to take this power, for she shall give it to us." Grim Noise promised, finishing in a hiss.
All of the roots but the ones cradling the slumbering mare fanned outwards, flying like arrows as they struck the ground in front of the fifteen Vanished closest to the lake.
"My whispers have already taken root in her mind even if she has yet to realize it, twisting her ideals around to match our own." Grim Noise stated. "She traveled willingly to claim her kingdom, knowing full well of the mortality she is to shed. If you do not believe me, hear it by her own proclamation!"
Two roots slowly slithered into Trixie's ears, spiraling down into the canals and latching onto her brain. The unicorn's eyes gradually opened; but instead of her shimmering violet iris, her entire eye was glowing with a fierce crimson light.
"It's true." Trixie spoke, her voice cold and hard with lack of emotions. "Trixie wishes  to prove to Starlight that she is just as good at magic as she is. Starlight will admire Trixie for her vast abilities."
Trixie's face suddenly twisted into one of anger and disgust, her voice came out a throaty growl.
"Trixie will prove it not just to her best friend, but to all of Equestria! She shall kill Twilight Sparkle! The alicorn must suffer for humiliating the Great and Powerful Trixie! She shall rue the day she ever crossed paths with me! And she shall feel every last bit of pain that Starlight felt! I will protect Starlight! Never again will either of us be forsaken by Twilight or the rest of Equestria! All will bow before us! And we shall rule, together!"
The roots were then yanked out of Trixie's head, and the mare promptly fell back into unconsciousness.
"For too long you have survived without a queen to guide you. A queen to protect you. A queen to love you." Said Grim Noise, "But tonight, we welcome her to our throngs. Tonight, she becomes a god!"
Scarlet Thorn and her companions watched in horror as the tendrils latched into the ground rose up and wrapped around the unconscious ponies- who were released from their captors' jaws- to drag them above the black lake. Luckily, there hadn't been enough roots to carry all the ponies- or perhaps Grim Noise had simply forgotten about the two- and Sunshine Smiles and Amethyst Star had been left behind for the moment.
The pegasus's stomach began to grow hot with fury. She had started to push herself up when Zecora stopped her. The zebra shook her head. Scarlet opened her mouth to protest, but then realized that Zecora was right. She couldn't just rush in there and expect to save all twenty-three of them.
Her teeth grit together in frustration. She looked at her twisted wings; even if the walls disabled her innate magic, it was times like this when she regretted her inability to fly the most. The mare fought back the horrible guilt forming in her heart, and swallowed her grief.
"Tonight, with these next few sacrifices and with the hatred that lies within this mare," Grim Noise held up Trixie. "you shall have a queen to lead you! Tonight, another joins are cause. Tonight, we grow stronger. Tonight, we prepare for war! Awaken my brood! And, DIVIDE THEM!"
The roots attached to the heart suddenly plunged downwards, submerging everypony but Trixie in the lake.
Then the screaming started. Their eyes exploded open as they screamed in agony. The black substance ate away at their flesh; skin began to peel away from their faces and exposed the bloody tissue underneath. They flailed in the goo, crying out for their mothers and other loved ones, while others begged Faust for death. The ooze slid down their throats, distorting their panicked shrieks into warped throaty yowls and gurgles. Finally they fell dead, and slipped into the dark waters below.
Sound-Off's claws rose to her mouth, as droplets formed in her eyes. Scarlet pulled her close, having to fight back her own cries. Vinyl simply chose to stay quiet, but anypony could see the pained and conflicted look in her eyes. Zecora simply watched.
"Now," Grim Noise bellowed. "Rise!"
The blackness suddenly began to ferociously bubble. Grim Noise yanked the corpses back up to surface, and into the air. Like the perfect machine each of the ponies' eyes opened simultaneously, their pupils replaced by dots and their sclera pitch black with swirls behind them.
CRACK!
Their grunts turned into deep growls; from their jaws sprouted fangs and flesh split along the cheeks. Limbs began to lengthen out, the skin stretching until it was torn and made ragged. They begun to grow apart, as if they were being pulled on opposite ends so that their middles could thin. Their hind legs suddenly twisted backwards and angled upwards, as their hooves were shaped into claws. Flesh melded together, and various substances erupted from their skin to rip the fragile casings further. Some swelled and grew armor, becoming tanks. Others had horns which lengthened out into deadly spears. The pegasi's wings burst open with various pops and grew far past their normal size. When the transformation was done the twenty-three new Vanished roared to signify their births.
The roots then fell limp, leaving the Vanished to swim through the corruptive liquid.
Only once the new monsters had made it to shore, did Grim Noise continue his speech. "And now, your queen!"
The vine holding Trixie began to slowly lower.
And the quartet knew they had to act fast.
Sound-Off, Zecora, and Scarlet all turned to Vinyl. The unicorn nodded her head, focusing on Trixie, Sunshine, and Amethyst. Just before the blue unicorn's hooves could touch the lake, she was teleported away.
"WHAT?!" Grim Noise roared.
"Now?" Vinyl inquired, floating Trixie atop her back- since Vinyl was the strongest and Trixie would clearly be the one the hive would target.
"Now." Zecora growled, taking Amethyst and Sunshine since she had the most endurance.
Scarlet whipped out her scythe, and scooped Sound-Off onto her back. "Ready?"
"I got your back!" Sound-Off declared, loading up her crossbow.
"Then let's go!" Vinyl yelled, jumping from their perch.
The pegasus followed after, letting out a mixture of a screaming battle cry and an adrenaline induced cry of joy as she plummeted. The zebra was the last to follow, using her old trick with the hidden hang glider to steady herself.
"Z.O.D.I.A.C.!" Grim Noise howled in rage. "GET THEM! MAKE YOUR QUEEN YOUR PRIORITY!"
The scene below erupted into battle.
Zecora flew overhead, easily dodging the roots surging after her. She reached into her bag and pulled out a net full of Cockatrice-petrification potions. "Let's see how much you like this, in these prisons you shall have plenty of time to reminisce!"
The assassin threw down the potions as she went, turning crowds of Vanished into sparkly statues. A series of cries and snarls from behind demanded her attention. The crafty zebra turned her head, only to find thirteen gryphon Vanished surging after her. Zecora smiled wickedly and threw the empty net behind her. It caught three of her enemies off-guard, and they were quickly entangled in her net causing them to crash below into a crystallized Vanished and smash it into pieces.
The remaining ten caught wind of the zebra's tricks, and split into five groups of two. Zecora reached again into her seemingly infinite bag and pulled out another bottle. This one was empty of any gases or liquid, but instead it contained a blue flower with orange spots.
"Have fun with this one, its effects are quite fun!" She called back as she uncorked it and tossed it into the claws of an unsuspecting gryphon.
The monstrous bird peeked into the bottle, and the flower spit out a cloud of orange pollen. It didn't take more than three seconds for the Vanished to be covered in orange spots, and it quickly grew dizzy. The infected gryphon crashed into the one next to it, causing them both to plummet to the ground below. The bottle broke as it crashed with them. The flower released another cloud of pollen, automatically infecting every Vanished within five feet of it. The ground below her was soon filled with bubbles and lightning bolts.
"GRAAAAAAH!" Grim Noise roared out in unbridled fury, sending roots flying after the zebra. "YOU LITTLE PEST! I'LL CRUSH YOU LIKE THE BUG YOU ARE!"
"Potions aren't the only trick up my sleeve, but let us see if there is anything you can actually achieve." Zecora teased.
If Grim Noise had actually been there, his eyes would have twitched. "WHY YOU INCOMPETENT LITTLE-"
Zecora pulled out another bottle, this one contained three parasprites. One pink, one yellow, and one brown. "Leftover pests from Twilight's failed spell, did I mention they have quite the appetite as well?"
She unscrewed the lid, releasing the three parasprites.
"BWHAHAHA!" Grim Noise burst into laughter. "Do you actually expect to stop me with three tiny bugs?! How amusing!"
The parasprites suddenly rocketed forward and began to eat away the roots, quickly making short-work of the largest of the tendrils. Then they promptly vomited out three more ravenous little bugs. This process continued until the three parasprites had become three-hundred.
"WHAT IS THIS?! GET THEM OFF!" Grim Noise demanded, swatting at the tiny menaces.
For every one parasprite that was killed by the thrashing roots, eight more took its place. And the swarm was still growing.
As the roots fell back, Zecora found herself losing altitude. She quickly swerved back towards the roots, using a parasprite-free tendril to kick off of and launch herself back into the air. Two more of the gryphon Vanished fell into the chaos below after slamming face first into the root behind her, while the remaining six were now swatting away at the ever-hungry swarm of parasprites surrounding them.
"How's that for a bug?! Now you must not feel so smug!" Zecora taunted, stopping at an outcropping in the tree's surface where she jammed a glowing orange crystal into a crevice.
From there she followed this pattern, cleverly taking down any gryphon Vanished that came after her with various potions and avoiding swarms of parasprites. Every so often she would break and plant another crystal, whether it was in a clump of roots, fitting it into a little crack, or simply dropping it below.
Vinyl, meanwhile, was blasting her way through waves of enemies.
She tossed a magical boomerang at the Vanished in front of her, using the time in between to slash through the beasts that charged at her.
It was like there was a Vanished radar in her head; she could sense every single beast surrounding her, and could predict exactly when they were going to attack or otherwise. It had started off as a small headache, but now it was like she could see out of her own body.
She quickly put up a shield as three Vanished attempted to strike her from behind and from the sides, before expanding out the shield and sending them flying. Then she saw her boomerang and leapt up to catch it.
"Aw, yeah!" She exclaimed. "Boomerang always comes back!"
The unicorn sent the boomerang flying again, where it sliced through more of the horde.
Another wave surrounded her.
"Wow, you guys must really want your queen." Vinyl said, reestablishing her shield as she landed. She then gestured to the pony on her back. "Trust me guys, we're saving you a whole lot of trouble. You wouldn't want her as your queen, I wouldn't even want her as my neighbor."
The Vanished took her comment offensively and begun to converge into a larger group. They began to ram against her shield, dragging their claws against the sides, and a few even bit at it. It wasn't long before the bubble begun to crack.
Suddenly the DJ got an idea, and her mouth slowly formed into a smile as she drew in as much energy as possible from around her.
"Kame." 
Her horn began to spark more than a firecracker.
"Hame"
The glow brightened in intensity.
She suddenly dropped her shield.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Every single Vanished in front of her from a foot away to the end of the tree- the Tree of Chaos itself actually took heavy damage, as Vinyl had created another entrance- were completely annihilated by the direct path of the beam.
"Huh." The unicorn's smile turned into a wide grin. "That. Was. Awesome! I've always wanted to do that!"
But it wasn't long before the Vanished she had killed were replaced with more coming from the hole she had made in the tree's surface. Vinyl didn't panic.
"Rover!" Vinyl yelled.
The Colossus's head perked up.
"Smash."
Rover let out a terrifyingly loud roar that shook the entire cavern and caused enormous chunks of crystal to fall from the darkness above and squash a couple of unlucky Vanished. The titanic beast then reared up onto his hind hooves and stomped anything below him into oblivion.
"WHAT?! SHE'S BONDED TO THE QUEEN'S SENTINEL!" Grim Noise barked out, still swatting away the parasprites.
"HIS NAME IS ROVER!" Vinyl shouted, catching her boomerang before re-throwing it and skidding into another crowd of Vanished.
Closer to the entrance, Scarlet Thorn was slashing away at the Vanished. The pegasus was unusually nimble, frequently using the Vanished and her scythe as gymnastics equipment. She cartwheeled under a Vanished, slicing it in half as she did so. Her quick strikes prevented any of the monsters from getting too close to her, and her pegasus ears were built to acknowledge the slightest change in the wind; she could hear the Vanished before she even saw them. And for the ones that did manage to sneak up on her, her reptilian daughter shot down with a well-timed bolt from her crossbow.
Scarlet bashed in the head of a Vanished, slamming its head repeatedly against the ground until it was no more than a bloody pulp. She had no time to wipe the chunks of flesh and brain from her face as something thundered towards her.
"Hang on!" Scarlet ordered as a bulky unicorn Vanished that wasn't quite big enough or armored enough to be like the one she had fought earlier came rampaging towards her.
Sound-Off eeped, and quickly hunkered down on the mare's back. "Mom?! What are you planning?!"
"Just hang on!" Scarlet repeated, tensing her legs.
She leapt onto the back of the Vanished as it charged at her, taking it for a rodeo ride.
The Vanished bucked, and reared, and spun- only succeeding in killing and disabling its own- but it could not get the mare off. Scarlet then suddenly switched her scythe over to her back and gripped the unicorn by its antlers. 
"This was your plan?!" Sound-Off exclaimed, tightening her hold around the mare.
"No," Scarlet answered. "This is. Hiya! Ride like the wind Bulls-Eye!"
She dug her hoof into the Vanished's neck. With a yelp from the surprised beast, the Vanished was forced to turn and be used as a living battering ram. 
The Vanished rammed into the crowd, stomping others flat. The pegasus mare forced its head down, and the sharp horn on its forehead rammed into a couple of other monsters before she tugged upwards and the corpses on its horn were thrown into the crowd. Finally the Vanished's horn snapped clean off, and it screeched in agony before collapsing and skidding into a rock. Scarlet managed to jump off just as a precariously placed boulder fell atop the Vanished and crushed it.
"Awww." She sighed in disappointment, pouting slightly. "I broke it."
Sound-Off just rapidly gasped in and out, struggling to catch her breath. "You're- you're just as- as crazy as the rest- the rest of them!"
A gryphon Vanished suddenly came from nowhere and leapt at them. It was less than a yard away when Sound-Off shot off a bolt that hit it right between the eyes, killing it instantly. Scarlet quickly dodged the corpse, sliding to the side as she continued to avoid the onslaught of monsters. The dragoness fired at any of the Vanished that came to close, easily killing them from the lack of distance.
"Thank you dear." The pegasus said.
"Your welcome." Sound-Off, happily stated, shooting another bolt off and killing another Vanished.
The mare swung her scythe back out in front of her once she got to a clearing, a sudden smile crossing her face as she skidded to a stop. Her voice came out as a malevolent growl. "Who's next?!"
To her astonishment, a regular unicorn stepped through the crowd of monsters.
Her coat was mint green in color, covered in a multitude of scars- but not so much so as Vinyl- while her nest of a mane, alternating white and a very pale blue, hung over her blood-crusted face. She flipped her head back, and her mane fell behind her ears. Her eyes held the spiral marks of an Obscure, and her teeth were sharpened into jagged fangs. Still, the two were very surprised.
"Lyra Heartstrings?" Sound-Off asked in disbelief.
"Not anymore." Scarlet growled. "Don't shoot at her, your weapon won't hurt the Eidolon inside. Just let me handle her."
The reptile nodded her head in confirmation.
Lyra shrieked at her in a shrill screech of challenge, pawing at the ground like a bull about to charge.
Scarlet burst into a sudden grin. "You think you can take me on? Prove it then. Let's do a one on one battle, unless you think you need help from your big bad friends."
Her taunt worked. The Obscure's eye begun to twitch. It suddenly let out a deeper call, one that the mare recognized as a predator claiming its prey, and the other Vanished respectfully backed off and galloped towards Vinyl's direction.
"Come on then!" Scarlet demanded, twirling her scythe. "You can even have first strike!"
The possessed Lyra absolutely lost it, and leapt at the pegasus.
Scarlet leapt back before springing forward and dashing to the side.
"How boring, oh we'll fix that right away!" She shouted, as in that flash second of being next to the confused and surprised Obscure her scythe was thrust straight up into the other mare's belly.
The blade sliced through the feral Lyra as if she were made of liquid. As Scarlet drew her blade upwards a black smokey shade was pulled out of the unicorn's body, its wispy tendrils clinging to its hostess's orifices as it was forced out from its home.
The Eidolon's mouth- more so two pieces of flesh melded together with holes burnt into the skin- opened in a horrifying shrill shriek. Its entire body pulsated as if it were filled with thousands of live rats, the 'skin' of its miasma-like form rapidly bulged outwards before retreating inwards before expanding out again. The holes burnt into its body constantly were being smashed together and then torn apart, while from its eyes- little more than two endless sockets- a trail of smoke still connected to Lyra's own began to slowly come loose.
With a grin, the scorpion muttered, "Well it looks like I win."
Scarlet twisted her blade, and the Eidolon came fully free of Lyra with a sickening squelching sound. As soon as it was removed the corrupted spirit's ear-piercing cries faded into silence, and its smoking form dissipated into the air. The unicorn collapsed immediately to the ground. To Scarlet's surprise, the mare's eyes opened.
Lyra began to scream, the occasional word or partial sentence slipping out. "NO! NO! I WON'T! MAKE IT QUIET! FAUST HELP! BONNIE! NO! NO! NO!"
The pegasus mare quickly snatched up the blubbering unicorn, who repeatedly slammed her hooves into her body in various attempts to get away, and took off through the horde of Vanished. "Sound-Off! Restrain her!"
"On it!" Sound-Off wrapped her tail around the mare's forelegs."Lyra! Lyra Heartstrings! You need to calm down! You're sa- Oof!"
She was interrupted as the unicorn smashed her hoof against her head. "HIS VOICE! IT'S IN MY HEAD! FIGHT! FIGHT! HIM, WIN, NO! BUT I DON'T WANT TO! I REFUSE! BONNIE, NO!"
"BONNIE ISN'T HERE!" Sound-Off screamed out, as Scarlet slid under the claws of a gryphon Vanished that very well nearly took her passengers' head off.
For whatever the reason, that seemed to do the trick. "Bonnie- Bonnie isn't- Bonnie... safe?"
"Yes, Bonnie safe!" The reptile yelled, bracing herself as the pegasus struck out at another monster with her hind hooves.
"Voice... gone?" Lyra asked, and then blinked.
"Yes!" The dragoness shouted.
Lyra shook her head rapidly, as if trying to shake off the reminiscence of a bad dream. "Where- where am I?"
Sound-Off took a deep breath before breathlessly spitting out, "My-friends-and-I-are-here-to-rescue-you-and-you're-pretty-much-in-Tartarus-so-that-about-sums-it-up-and-hold-on!"
Scarlet felt the claws around her neck tighten, and Lyra wrapped her hooves around the pegasus's waist. The Vanished begun to close in from all sides. She snorted in defiance and continued to gallop, quickly reaching her limit. Just as the monsters were within range she threw down her scythe. Using it as pole vault, the mare catapulted herself- wrapping her long tail around the handle as she went- over the oncoming wave of Vanished who crashed into each other with snarls and growls. She landed a few feet away, and skidded a full ninety-degrees before continuing her mad dash. Scarlet tossed her scythe into the air, catching it after in her mouth.
She then wrathfully sliced down whatever lie in her unyielding path, creating a bloody trail that led towards Vinyl; a mare of warning lights.
The panting pegasus continued to dodge and lash out at the Vanished with her blade, managing with the extra help from Sound-Off and her trusty crossbow and now Lyra as the unicorn erected yellow magic barriers when necessary.
Vinyl, in the mean time, found herself completely surrounded.
"You want a piece of this?! Do! You! Want! A! Piece! Of! This?!" Vinyl demanded, her new horn crackling with power. "Well come and get some 'cause I have enough for everypony!"
Her horn turned into a built-in flamethrower, torching every Vanished within six yards of her. More came from behind and the unicorn bucked the one closest to her clear into the air, while the others were thrown back by a wall of magenta magic.
Vinyl tore into a Vanished with her blade, jabbing the needle-tip straight into its eye and twisting it free with her magic before smacking another monster with the butt end of the sword. She then whacked that same Vanished she had just hit with the staff-end of the swordstick hard enough to smack its head clean off.
"FORE!" Vinyl yelled.
She blasted back another wave of Vanished with an exploding shield; the broken shards of magic then shot off and lodged themselves into the surrounding monsters acting as shrapnel from a bomb. And any Vanished that survived the blast quickly met their fate when Vinyl recharged her flame spell. Before long the mare had surrounded herself with a circle of smoldering corpses.
Just then, a mammoth tank Vanished burst through the corpses of its brethren, clearing the bodies away with its tusks. It roared at Vinyl as it charged forward, a ball of living spikes.
Vinyl smiled. "I came here to drink whiskey and kill every last one of you motherbucking horse-sons! And I'm all out of whiskey!
The unicorn rushed forward to meet the tank Vanished, surrounding herself in an aura of magenta magic before clashing with the monster head on. Her impact was enough to leave faint crack marks in the Vanished's armor, but not enough to do any real damage. 
Vinyl's ear flattened against her head. "Uh-oh."
The Vanished roared in her face, almost covering the mare's front completely in saliva.
Vinyl quickly spun around, screaming, "Bad day! Bad day! Bad day! Bad day! Bad day! Bad day!"
The unicorn found herself running straight towards Scarlet Thorn and Sound-Off.
"Vinyl!" Sound-Off called out.
"Yo, dragon chick!" Vinyl greeted, teleporting to their side and running with them. "Oh good! You found Lyra!"
"Vinyl?!" Lyra exclaimed upon seeing the other unicorn. "What happened to you?!"
"Long story." Vinyl said. "You see I've been down her with these monsters for a week after you tricked me into going deeper into the Everfree, thanks for that by the way. Managed to survive, saved Scarlet's sorry flank like three or four different times."
Scarlet couldn't exactly speak too well with her scythe in her mouth, but she managed a well-placed jab at the DJ's side.
Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Now we're trying to stop all these things and the talking heart from destroying Equestria. Oh, and that giant monster over there? That's my new pet. His name is Rover."
Lyra's face scrunched up so much so with confusion that her eyes started to go cross. "Wha?"
Zecora suddenly landed on Scarlet's other side, her hang glider wings slid back into place. "I have used up almost all of my things, oh, hello Mrs. Heartstrings."
"Z- Zecora too?" Lyra gasped out.
"Pardon me Mrs. Strings but this is no time to chat, at least not where we are at." Zecora rhymed out, stabbing a Vanished with her dagger and then kicking it back. "What a time for me to run out of potions, in the middle of all this commotion!"
Sound-Off reached into her quiver, but found it empty. "Uh-oh! I'm all out of bolts! And I don't know how much longer mom can keep this up!"
Underneath her, the pegasus had begun to pant wildly and her gait was slowly but surely starting to slow. And Sound-Off could feel the sweat saturating the mare's coat.
The yellow aura around Lyra's horn was also flickering on and off. "And I don't think I'm going to be of much use either, sorry."
Vinyl looked over to Rover. Roots had managed to wrap themselves around his right foreleg and partially around his middle. Yet he continued to thrash by his mistress's will, even though Vinyl could see that the Colossus had begun to tire. She herself was beginning to feel the strain, even if it was only physically.
The unicorn grit her teeth. "Everypony just stick by me!"
Vinyl Scratch's horn brightened as she prepared for her spell. The zebra and pegasus skidded to a halt as the blue-maned mare stopped; Vinyl knew that even with her improved magic that she wouldn't be able hold the spell while moving. Reaching deep into her massive mana pools, the unicorn envisioned her friends and how much she wanted to protect them. That love she felt shot up into her horn, and formed a massive shield spell easily a full thirteen yards in diameter. The spell itself was so powerful that any Vanished that had been within the bubble's range had been disintegrated on contact. 
The ponies, zebra, and dragoness within the shield each began to feel their love for each other.
Lyra thought mostly of Bon Bon, although with how her saviors had put themselves in danger for her she couldn't help but to think of them.
The unconscious Sunshine Smiles dreamed of her sister Moonlight Raven, her cousin Lily Lace, Giselle, and of her friends in Canterlot. While Amethyst Star's head was suddenly filled with images of her mother, younger sister, and her own daughter. Even Trixie was bombarded with memories of Starlight Glimmer, her only real friend.
Vinyl thought of Octavia, and all of her friends back in Ponyville as well as in Manehatten; and upon looking around, her new friends- and Rover- too.
Zecora thought of how much Scarlet and Sound-Off had begun to grow on her, and yes, even Vinyl. 
Sound-Off thought of Princess Luna and Gallant Aurora, her primary family; then she thought of her dragon parents, who did love her very much. The reptile looked over at Scarlet. And of course her 'mom' too, who she loved just as much as Gallant.
Scarlet Thorn herself thought immediately of Black Dawn and Cobra Strike and how badly she wanted to be there for them both, her attention then centered on all of her friends and fellow agents. Sound-Off. Vinyl Scratch. Zecora. Gallant Aurora. Seraph Ash. Sunshine Razor. Lullaby Lotus. And all of the others, including Princess Luna.
Those feelings of love and friendship empowered them, filling them with an incredible amount of strength that continuously fed into Vinyl's shield and kept it from breaking.
Grim Noise begun to laugh again. "How adorably pathetic. You think your little bubble is going to stop my army from killing you and taking back their queen?! Well you thought wrong."
The Vanished surrounding the shield all attacked it at once; charging from the sides and from above. They were promptly turned into ash.
"What's this?" Grim Noise hissed out. "A spell fueled by love magic? No, love magic does not kill. This is love magic corrupted by my own impurity. How, intriguing."
Scarlet stepped forward. "Call off your army, and let us go!"
Her companions' jaws all dropped. Even if they were confident, they weren't that confident. Scarlet Thorn was arguing with Grim Noise himself.
"And exactly who are you to be making demands of me?" Grim Noise crooned. "Do you even know who you are speaking to? I am Grim Noise! I am the master of the mindscape, eater of souls, Tartarus in physical form! I am-"
"Kind of a huge narcissist?" Scarlet offered, much to the disbelief and distress of her friends.
"ENOUGH!" Grim Noise roared. "Tell me, cretin, does your flippancy amuse you?!"
"Yeah, I'm pretty bucking proud of myself." Scarlet stated.
"YOU DARE TO ANGER ME?!" Grim Noise bellowed.
"I do!" Scarlet declared. "If it's to defend my friends-"
The pegasus looked back at Sound-Off.
"And my family." Scarlet continued. Then I will do everything in my power to protect them! And that includes stopping you!"
"THAT IS IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR IGNORAMUS BEHAVIOR!" Grim Noise thundered out. "YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE THAT INVOKE MY FURY?! WELL THEN ALLOW ME TO GRANT YOU YOUR WISH!"
The heart itself begun to beat louder and more frequently.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP, THUMP.
THUMP, THUMP.
THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP!
The ground begun to shake as roots erupted from the soil and rock, snaking into the tree and plunging down into the black lake at unrivaled speeds.
From within the lake came a single tiny ripple. That one ripple quickly became hundreds of thousands of furious ripples as the the lake began to froth like mad. The souls from the heart begun to slide down into the roots, their boil-encrusted surfaces beginning to rapidly inflate and deflate as the souls made their way into the corrosive ooze. The air around them completely changed, filling with such chaos that the world seemed as if it would be torn apart.
Everything stopped; from the growls and cries of the Vanished, to the breathing of the five friends.
The roots then suddenly begun to drag themselves upwards, as is carrying something heavy.
From out of the waters came a massive clawed hoof- more of an actual claw really- that even the Colossus could be crushed by. Followed by a ghost of a foreleg of rotting flesh. Another hoof came after, along with the attached limb and waterfalls of liquid abyss. The hooves slammed against the ground, leaving craters in their wake.
With help from the roots, the arms begun to push out as the rest of the body was slowly dragged forth.
A curved horn covered in thorns ruptured the surface of the water, eight more surrounding the larger one were to come after. Then trailing the horns came three massive pairs of tattered feathered wings which burst from the black filth, sending the ooze spraying in every direction. Upon touching Vinyl's shield the vile substance immediately corroded the parts where it touched, but Vinyl quickly sealed the intrusions.
And then came the head. Snout still in the water, the top of the head slowly rose from the basin with eyes sealed shut. The head itself held patches of decaying skin to a bleached skull. Only parts of the face still held chunks of flesh, and only one eye was surrounded by the shredded meat. The snout itself was long and filled with needle-like teeth that jutted out in every possible direction and overflowed from the mouth. The nasal cavity was completely exposed, not a single speck of flesh still attached to it. 
The chest arose from the water next; the bare bones of the rib cage were completely revealed, allowing all to see into the darkness within and the intestines that hung from the rotted belly. While the 'skin' that was attached to the body was actually the pulsating faces and flailing limbs of various creatures. The broken and disfigured bodies of ponies moaned and wailed in agony, their cries echoing across the spacious hollow. Roots penetrated from every single orifice in their skeletal bodies, popping out of their eyes, poking out from their nostrils and ears, and rupturing forth from their mouths. Bellies were pregnant with the infernal roots, swollen to abnormal sizes and burst open where the parasitical growths erupted. There was no heart within the chest cavity, only a crackling orb of dark lightning.
Finally Grim Noise's eyes, set far back into the socket, opened. The eyes were twin pits straight into the depths of Tartarus. The swirls behind the crimson pupils were revealed to be the souls of the innocent drifting endlessly into the abyss.
"TELL ME, CRAVENS, IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?!" He roared. "I WILL ELIMINATE YOU, AND YOUR SOULS SHALL JOIN MY OWN TO LENGTHEN MY LIFE!"
It was then Sound-Off noticed something, something so amazing and wonderful she nearly collapsed in happiness and cried out her gratitude to both Zirnitra and Faust.
Grim Noise's lower half was still submerged in the black lake. Grim Noise, in fact, couldn't physically leave the lake.
The dragoness ever-so-slightly nudged Vinyl and Zecora with her wings, gesturing to the lake with her head.
Zecora's eyes narrowed, before widening in realization. She then slightly raised her leg to signify that she had figured out Grim Noise's sole weakness. And shook her back so that her bag jiggled, signifying that she had a plan.
Scarlet noticed her friends' cues, and quickly came to the same conclusion.
Vinyl took longer to catch up with them, but once she did the unicorn's ear stood up before her mouth twisted up into a smug smile.
"WELL?!" Grim Noise demanded. "ARE YOU NOT QUIVERING WITH HYSTERIA?!"
Sound-Off hissed out, "Lyra, brace yourself."
Lyra was unable to find her voice, instead she gave off a slight nod.
"I'LL EVEN BE NICE." Grim Noise offered, his horn lighting up in swirls of purple, red, black, and green lightning. "I'LL GIVE YOU UNTIL THE COUNT OF THREE TO PRAY TO YOUR PATHETIC GODS."
Zecora begun to slowly raise her hoof towards her bags.
"ONE!"
Vinyl prepared her magic.
"TWO!"
Scarlet firmly planted her hooves on the ground.
"THREE!!!"
Grim Noise shot from his horns a blast of magic that completely destroyed Vinyl's pitiful bubble, which shattered into millions of pieces before disintegrating completely. The raw magic not only left a smoldering crater where the ponies, zebra, and dragoness had been, but eliminated almost an entire half of his own army as well.
"BEHOLD MY ARMY! BEHOLD YOUR GOD'S POWER! IT GOES UNRIVALED!" Grim Noise's twisted face formed into a grin, or at least it would have had he the ability to form facial expressions. "THERE IS NO FORCE IN ALL OF EQUIS THAT CAN CHALLENGE ME! LET US REPLENISH ARE ARMY WITH THE CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE AND EVERY TOWN AND CITY IN BETWEEN! AND CELEBRATE THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE DAMNABLE  Z.O.D.I.A.C.!"
"Hey ugly!" A voice called out.
All eyes turned to the silhouettes atop the crystal heart.
"Up here!"
The eyes traveled upwards to reveal Scarlet and her friends, Vinyl's horn was smoking from another teleportation spell.
"WHAT?!" Grim Noise cried out. "YOU MANAGED TO ESCAPE A BLAST OF RAW, UNFILTERED, PURE VOID MAGIC?!"
"Yeah! Real nice aim by the way!" Vinyl taunted.
"And," Sound-Off pointed a claw at herself. "I figured out your weakness! You cant leave that lake!"
"What's more, we have found your weakness core." Zecora stated.
Scarlet hit the crystal with her hoof. "The reason you don't have a heart in that gaping chest of yours? It's because it's right here! And you're not just about to attack us in risk of destroying your own heart!"
"I just wanna go home." Lyra muttered.
Grim Noise was silent. And then, "YOU IMBECILES! DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS IS MY ONLY HEART?! I HAVE MORE SCATTERED NOT JUST ACROSS EQUESTRIA, BUT ACROSS ALL OF EQUIS! YOU'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO FIND THEM ALL!"
The five companions blanched.
Then Scarlet shook herself to her senses. "Maybe not just us alone, but with all of Z.O.D.I.A.C. working together, we will find a way to kill you."
"WHY?! IS FRIENDSHIP," Grim Noise made sure to mockingly raise his voice at the last word. "GOING TO SAVE YOU?!"
"No." Scarlet stated. "But Zecora is."
The striped assassin held in her hoof an orange crystal fashioned onto the shape of a sphere.
Then, with a simple twist from her wrist, the orb shattered against the heart.
BOOM!
The crystals she had planted suddenly rapidly brightened, exploding one by one in quick succession.
The casing around the heart began to crack.
Explosions rang out from all across the hollow, sending smoking limbs rocketing through the air. The cavern begun to violently shake as the ground split apart and the Tree of Chaos began to collapse.
Vinyl's horn lit up, and she quickly teleported herself and her friends from atop the heart.
"GET THEM!" Grim Noise roared as they reappeared below.
The roots holding the heart begun to come loose.
The army of surviving Vanished screeched and surged after them, a living tidal wave of rotting flesh and teeth.
As they ran, the ground continued to crumble below creating vast gorges. Vinyl, Scarlet, and Zecora jumped over one such fissure.
"That was your plan?!" Sound-Off yelled over the explosions. "To blow us up?!"
"No! The plan was to create a distraction, to prepare for extraction!" Zecora shouted.
The Vanished drew closer, snapping at their heels. Zecora quickly pulled from her bag the last of her vials, and chucked it back into the horde. It exploded against a unicorn Vanished, and every monster within the poison's range suddenly collapsed and begun to violently spasm and choked to death on their own blood.
"We need-" Scarlet kicked out at a Vanished, and rammed the barb of her scythe into its flank. With a mighty jerk the beast stumbled and fell forward as the entire leg was ripped from the socket and flung into the horde. "We need an escape plan! Now!"
"Vinyl! Can you teleport us out of here?!" Sound-Off demanded.
"No! Unicorn magic doesn't work that way! We have to be able to physically see our destination!" Vinyl exclaimed.
"But Princess Twilight can do it!" The dragoness retorted.
"She's an alicorn!" Vinyl snarled out, swinging her blade to meet an oncoming Vanished while her magic decimated another portion.
They were suddenly forced to change course when a wave of black ooze erupted through a fissure.
"STOP THEM! STOP THEM NOW YOU IMBECILES!" Grim Noise bellowed. 
The roots holding the heart suddenly begun to fray.
"I can't teleport us out!" Vinyl stated, throwing up a shield to protect them from the spray. She expanded out the shield and blew it up. "If you have something that can get us out of here you need to do it!"
More chunks came loose from the ceiling as the explosions continued, Vinyl struck the crystal boulders with her magic before they could flatten them.
Sound-Off squeezed her eyes shut, droplets forming in their corners. "But I-" 
"ENOUGH! I WILL END THIS MYSELF!" Grim Noise thundered, his horn beginning to crackle with dark energy.
The roots holding the heart finally snapped, and the crystal encasing it shattered completely.
The heart tumbled downwards, coming to a halt when it impaled against Grim Noise's horn.
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!"  Grim Noise screamed in pain.
His body begun to rapidly fall apart.
Chunks of flesh fell into the lake, exposing the hideous skeleton underneath. His fangs begun to fall from his mouth, the lower jaw itself came loose and crashed into the dark waters below. The rest of his body soon followed, crumbling away as he clawed at the ground.
"THIS WILL NOT STOP ME! AS LONG AS MY OTHER HEART'S REMAIN, SO WILL I!" He roared out. "I WILL DESTROY YOU Z.O.D.I.A.C, AND YOUR LITTLE PRINCESS TOO!"
With that the skeleton's eyes flashed into a tremendous blast of light. The hundreds of thousands of souls burst from the sockets and erupted outwards, flying around in the air before finding their way out of the crumbling Tree of Chaos and out of the accursed caverns.
The tree finally reached its limits in its strength, and begun to break apart.
"Sound-Off that teleportation spell, please tell me you know it well!" Zecora demanded.
"I- I don't!" The dragoness exclaimed. "I barely know it well enough to cast it! If I were to use it, there's no telling where we'd end up! Or if the spell would even work!"
"Well you're gonna want to cast it!" Vinyl struck out with her blade, slicing the head from a monster. "Even I can't keep this up for much longer!"
"I told you, I can't! I don't know it that well!" Sound-Off cried out, the tears now falling freely.
"Sound-Off!" Scarlet glanced back at her. "You can do it! I know you can! There is no dragon as intelligent or as good with their magic as you!"
"But what if I mess up?! What if I can't even get the spell to appear?!" The dragoness asked.
"What if the alicorns were actually changelings?!" Vinyl interrupted. "Life is full of what ifs! If you spend the rest of your life worrying about the future then you'll never accomplish anything! Life is about taking chances! So just do it!"
"I- I-" Sound-Off stuttered.
"You've read the spell!" Scarlet called back, her blade tearing through the ragged skin of another monster. "You can do it!"
"Just recount from your memory the incantation, believe in your abilities of the mind, your ovation!" Zecora versed, thrusting her dagger into the lower jaw and through the skull of a Vanished.
"Please!" Lyra added, hunkering down as a gryphon dive-bombed them.
"Sound-Off!" Scarlet screamed, kicking away a Vanished. "Hurry!"
"Fine!" Sound-Off shouted. "I'll do it!"
The reptile suddenly exhaled a tremendous burst of fire. The flame ballooned outwards to form an unstable ring of purple.
"JUMP THROUGH!" Sound-Off cried out.
Scarlet and Zecora both leapt into the portal with a flash of flame. Vinyl stopped and looked back at the Colossus. The giant monster was still tangled in the roots. The Colossus turned to face her with a distressed and sad look. It rumbled out a low growl of desperation as the cavern collapsed around it.
The unicorn felt a pang of guilt. "Hang on Rover!"
Vinyl concentrated as much magic as possible into her horn before releasing it all at once. The magenta blast hit Rover square in the chest. The Colossus's body suddenly imploded inwards on itself, before popping outwards and leaving the once-titanic beast the size of a large chicken. The blue-maned mare then floated Rover over to her.
She then jumped through the portal, which collapsed behind her.

***

"Ugggh." Scarlet Thorn moaned, pushing herself off the ground. "Where are we?"
Sound-Off rubbed her head as sat up. "I- I think we're still in the Everfree."
Zecora stumbled to her hooves. "Hmmm, this part of the forest I do recognize. And luckily we are far from the Vanished hive."
Lyra Heartstrings stood up with a sputtering cough. "My everything hurts."
Scarlet was about to speak when Vinyl Scratch suddenly fell atop of her, causing the mare to cry out in surprise.
The unicorn stepped off of the other mare. "Whoops, sorry about that."
"Glad I could break your fall." The pegasus mare grumbled, cracking her back and stretching her wings. Upon standing to full height and seeing Vinyl, Scarlet's face deadpanned. "Um, Vinyl? You have a- a - a Rover on your head?"
"Hmm?" The unicorn floated off the monster from its perch in her telekinesis. Rover cooed happily upon seeing her. She put him back. "So I do."
"She did it." Sound-Off gasped out, shoulders slumped. "She actually bucking did it."
"What did I say?! I told you I could, and I did!" Vinyl proudly exclaimed.
A sudden shadow swept over the five companions from above. 
"What was that?!" Sound-Off squeaked out.
"Whatever it is, it's going to die very painfully, because I am really not in the mood." Scarlet snarled, raising her scythe.
"Not if I kill it first!" Vinyl teased, her horn lighting up.
Zecora took up a defensive position behind them, guarding the two unicorns atop her back.
The shadow swerved back around, moving towards them with unrivaled speed before crashing into the ground with enough force stir up a cloud of dirt and dust. Rover must have sensed something was wrong, as he leapt from Vinyl's head and darted into the bushes with a frightened cry. They all tensed, and then,
"Sound-Off! Scarlet Thorn! Thou are alright!"
The dragoness immediately swallowed the flames in her throat with a wailing cry. "Luna!"
Princess Luna stepped out of the dust cloud just in time to catch the dragoness in a running hug. The dragon nuzzled into Luna's soft fur, and the alicorn drew the reptile closer with her wing. "I am so relieved to know that you're alright. What were you thinking heading into such dangerous territory for your first mission?!"
Sound-Off pushed herself away from the princess with a sniffle. "I guess- well we- I mean- I-"
"Sound-Off!" Another voice cried out, this one deeper.
A Maya blue unicorn with an onyx mane glided down into the clearing on shimmering wings of magic. The wings twinkled out of existent as he landed, and his armor clanked softly with every step from his purple hooves.
"Gallant!" Sound-Off called out, racing over to her patriarch and adopted father.
She quickly skidded to a halt and began to turn around upon seeing the stern look in his plum eyes. "Oh, sugar, honey, ice tea!"
Before the reptile could get very far the unicorn rolled his eyes and dragged her over to him. "How could you put yourself in danger like that?! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?! You are so grounded young lady!"
"Ugh! Gallant! Let me go!" The dragoness demanded, struggling in his magical grasp.
"After what you pulled?! You're lucky if I ever let you out of my sight for the rest of my natural life!" Gallant exclaimed as he levitated the grumpy dragoness onto his back. "What were you thinking?! How could you be so- so, stupid as to put yourself in such a hazardous situation?! What is wrong with you?! You know better!"
Scarlet's face hardened as she witnessed the dragoness sniffling back her tears. "It was my fault. I had no idea that this rescue mission would escalate to such high stakes. It was never my intent to put Sound-Off into this dangerous scenario, nor would I ever want to. I accept full blame and responsibility. I am, after all, a more experienced agent."
Gallant glared at her and stepped forward to give the pegasus mare a few choice words, but Luna intervened. She stretched her wing out in front of him, and trot over to Scarlet.
Luna nodded her head. "Well if that is the case, I-"
"Now wait just a moment!" Vinyl suddenly interrupted, stomping over to the princess. "Now look here lady! I don't care if you're the princess of the moon or the princess of burping butterflies! And you're a foal if you think I'm going to stand idly by while you punish my friend for something she couldn't control!"
Sound-Off quickly motioned for the unicorn to stop with the frantic shaking of her head and claws from atop of Gallant. Scarlet screamed at the mare to stop with her eyes. Zecora's hoof flew over her mouth. Gallant, for his part, just looked amused.
Luna raised an eyebrow and snorted. "Are thou challenging me?"
"Yeah, I guess I am." Vinyl snarled, ignoring her companions. "You can't blame Scarlet for any of this! She didn't know any better! How was she supposed to know that there was an entire cave full of monsters?! So you can't punish her!"
The alicorn's eyebrows fully furrowed into an expression of anger. "Vinyl Scratch I presume?"
Vinyl blinked. "How do you know my-"
The lunar princess suddenly dragged Vinyl over to her in her magical grasp. "And, pray tell, exactly how do you plan to stop me? With your little upgrade?"
She flicked Vinyl's horn with her hoof. Vinyl bit her lower lip, but then she looked back at Scarlet and knew that what she was doing was right. She turned back to the princess before her.
"I don't care what you do to me, but I'm not going down until you admit that Scarlet is innocent and free her from any punishments!" Vinyl yelled right into the princess's face. "And yeah, if I have to I'll magic your head right off!"
"You know there's a special place in Tartarus just for ponies like you." Luna stated.
"Yeah, it's called the throne!" Vinyl countered.
Luna's eyes narrowed a frightening amount, and then she burst out laughing and released the unicorn from her telekinetic death grip. "Thou's face was glorious!"
"Um, what?" Vinyl's face scrunched up in confusion, as did her friends.
"You actually thought that I would bring harm upon Scarlet Thorn? No, no! I would never dream of such a thing!" Luna exclaimed, wiping away the tears. "Agent Scorpio is my friend. I was going to say, in that case I understand that she didn't have any control over the situation, especially given the circumstances, and that I was glad she suffers from no such lacerations or wounds."
Everypony, zebra, and dragoness let out a huge sigh of relief. Except for Gallant, who had been expecting this.
"So, if you weren't going to punish her, why did you turn all Nightmare Moon-y? Uh, no offense." Vinyl quickly added.
"None taken." Luna assured before continuing. "I needed to make sure that your heart was pure and of good intent first."
"First?" Vinyl inquired.
"Yes." Luna confirmed before clearing her throat. "Vinyl Scratch, I'd like to welcome you to Z.O.D.I.A.C."
Vinyl's jaw dropped. "You- you want me as an agent?!"
"But of course. Your love for your friends and willingness to stand up for their honor not only demonstrates your loyalty, but your purity at heart and soul as well." Luna said with a warm smile. "Those traits are exactly what I look for and want in my agents. I have met few ponies, or any creature for that matter, with such faithfulness as you Vinyl. They are far and few between. So Vinyl Scratch, will you join us in our conquest to put an end to Grim Noise and his army?"
"Buck yeah I will!" Vinyl exclaimed, taking the alicorn's hoof.
"Delightful!" Luna trilled. "Now, what would you like to call yourself?"
"What?" Vinyl murmured.
"You're code-name." Sound-Off suddenly piped. "Every agent has one. I'm Agent Capricorn, and Scarlet is Agent Scorpio! The first twelve members are named after the zodiac symbols, while anyone that joins is named after another constellation! Zecora is Agent Hydra, but she didn't get a choice in her name because of the circumstances."
"Agent Hydra is a lovely name, I wouldn't have it any other way." Came Zecora's response.
"So what will it be Vinyl Scratch?" Luna inquired.
Vinyl put a hoof up to her chin for a moment, thinking to herself before a wide grin overcame her face. "How about Lupus? Yeah, Agent Lupus! I like it!"
The lunar princess's own smile grew. "Agreed. It reminds me of the resilience, strength, and loyalty of a wolf. Something you have Vinyl Scratch. In any case, welcome to Z.O.D.I.A.C. Agent Lupus!"
A round of stomping cheers- clapping on Sound-Off's part- followed.
Vinyl sniffled back her prideful tears. "I'll make you proud Princess Luna! I Pinkie Pie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

***

A horrendously pink mare suddenly shot up in her bed, startling off the baby alligator that had been sleeping on her stomach.
"FOREVER!" She hissed out with wide eyes, before collapsing and falling back into a deep slumber as if nothing had ever happened.
The alligator, however, was used to such strange behavior. He simply rolled off of his back and onto his claws before jumping back onto the bed and curling up in his previous position. True happiness for him, was with a certain sugar-addicted and overly-excitable pink mare after all.

***

Luna then turned her attention to the bloody and mangled Lyra Heartstrings. "My little pony, I have no words to console for what you hath went through other than, I'm sorry. Nopony should have to go through what you have, you are very lucky to be alive."
Lyra's hooves shuffled below her. "Thank you princess."
"You have nothing to thank me for." The alicorn guiltily proclaimed. "But, I will offer you the same position as I have to Vinyl. You may join Z.O.D.I.A.C. if you wish, or, with your permission, I will erase all and any memory from your time within the hive. You will remember nothing, only the happy events leading up to your possession. Every trace that Grim Noise or his minions ever existed will be completely eradicated from your mind. You will remember nothing."
Lyra's eyes scanned the ground in thought, and then she took a deep breath. Tears filled her eyes, and she suddenly stomped her hoof. "Please princess, erase my memories. I don't want to remember any of this! I don't want to live my life in fear! I want- I want to go back to my old life! I want to play my lyre happily! I want to be obsessed with hands! And above all I want to curl up next to Bonnie without being afraid that something might take her away from me! So please Princess Luna, you have my complete permission to erase my memory!"
Luna nodded her head and lit her horn. "If that is what you wish."
"Wait!" Lyra suddenly called out. She quickly turned to the agents of Z.O.D.I.A.C. "Thanks for, you know, saving me. Even if I don't really know any of you that well, I'm happy to know that Equestria has such amazing protectors who are willing to put their own lives at risk to save others. I hope that maybe, when this whole thing is done, that after I lose my memory we can still be friends. I would be honored to call such heroes, even when I forget, my friends."
Scarlet Thorn wiped a tear from her eye. "It would be my pleasure Lyra."
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Vinyl agreed, giving the mare a hearty slap on the back.
"Expanding my circle of friends is something new, but I would like to be your friend too." Zecora happily rhymed out.
"If you'll have me, I'd like that." Sound-Off added, twiddling her thumbs.
Gallant simply shrugged his shoulders.
Lyra smiled, before turning to Luna. "Okay Princess, erase my memories."
"Just know Lyra, that even in the waking world, I am watching over you." The alicorn then gestured to her agents. "We all are. Now, close your eyes."
Lyra did as she was instructed. Luna put their horns together, her own lighting up in a swirl of magic. The aura of blue magic then swept over to the unicorn's horn, spiraling all the way down to its base before dissipating upon hitting her head. The mint unicorn then promptly collapsed into a deep slumber, and the alicorn caught her.
The sleeping pony then mumbled out a single sentence before the darkness of the spell completely overtook her. "See you soon... everyone."
"It is done." Luna stated.
"Now what?" Vinyl inquired.
"Now," Luna suddenly levitated Trixie Lulamoon, Sunshine Smiles, Amethyst Star, and Lyra Heartstrings in her magic. "this."
The four mares were then encased in an alicorn-level healing spell. Major injuries automatically began to fix themselves. Amethyst's flesh began to grow back over her exposed skull, and a new eyeball inflated in her socket. Sunshine's leg was repaired, while her internal bleeding was stopped and her neck set back in place. Lyra's scars were closed up, and her mane grown back out. When she finished, Luna floated Sunshine and Amethyst back to Zecora, and Lyra and Trixie to Vinyl.
Sound-Off couldn't help but to notice that Luna had left some bruises and scratches covering the mares. "Luna, why didn't you completely heal them?"
"Because Sound-Off, it would be suspicious if ponies who had gone missing were to come back completely unharmed. Especially Lyra, who has been gone for a week." The nightly alicorn explained. "In the process of healing them, I have also erased their memories. Now, what is our cover story?"
Zecora stepped up. "Timber Wolves are what these woods are infamous for, perhaps such a tale will have a strong enough core?"
"Hmm, I suppose that would do. Yes, that will do just fine." Luna glanced over the agents. "Now, be sure to keep your stories similar enough to not raise suspicion. If you can, avoid bringing it up at all costs. I trust you to come up with a viable story that will keep our organization out from underneath the public eye."
"You can count on us princess!" Scarlet assured.
"I know I can. Before we stage this, I must ask, would you like me to heal any of you? Sound-Off, you don't get a choice in the matter." Luna inquired.
Sound-Off crossed her arms, but still continued to smile. While she hadn't really suffered anything other than a few scratches thanks to her almost impenetrable scales, she felt lucky to have such a caring- if overprotective- family.
Scarlet opened her wings the best she could and looked at the gouges One-Eye had left in her sides. "I think it would be for the best. "I wouldn't be able to come up with a believable excuse for Black Dawn."
Luna turned to Zecora. "And you?"
"There is no need to worry about me, I have plenty of healing potions back in my tree." The zebra assured, slipping off her dagger and putting it into her almost empty saddlebag. "And from you Sound-Off I must take back my crossbow, questions it may tow. And from you Vinyl my staff, it was only a borrow on my behalf."
Luna nodded her head in acknowledgement to the shaman's wishes as the aforementioned mare and reptile handed her back her weapons. Her attention then shifted to the most injured them all. "Vinyl Scratch? I can fix your scars, your mane, and even your teeth. But, I cannot fix your blind eye, and there is absolutely nothing I can do for your horn except teach you an illusion spell to hide it."
Vinyl shook her head. "Like I told Scarlet, I don't want to go back to living my old life. All of this-"
The alicorn couldn't help but to wince as the unicorn gestured to her battered body.
"It's a part of who I am now." The blue-maned pony continued. "And while I appreciate the offer princess, I'm not going to lose any part of myself."
"A noble gesture." Luna solemnly said. "Although I imagine you would still like to learn this illusion spell? It would be awfully hard to explain exactly what happened to your horn, and I am curious myself. I expect a full report by the next moon, that goes for each of you."
Vinyl couldn't help but to groan. "Ugh, fine. But yeah, I'll take that illusion spell. Oh, and don't try to blow him up or anything, but I think Rover might need one too."
"Rover?" Luna inquired.
"Yeah, he's, uh, kind of bonded with me?" Vinyl rubbed the back of her head in thought. "So he's not like, evil, or anything."
The alicorn's eyebrow once again rose. "What did you do?"
"Well," Vinyl began, drawing out the ending syllable. "it will be easier to just show you. Rover! Here boy!"
The bushes behind Vinyl began to ruffle, and Rover cautiously stepped out with a whimpering cry.
Gallant Aurora, who had felt no need to speak and thus had been silent, yelped in surprise and fear. "A Vanished!"
His horn lit up, but before he could fire off any spell Vinyl quickly stepped in front of Rover. "Hey! I said leave him alone!"
Both Gallant and Luna blinked in surprise, but it was ultimately Luna who spoke. "Is this, creature, Rover?"
"Yeah! He's like my pet! Watch this!" Vinyl turned to Rover, making sure the princess and her son could see. "Rover, sit!"
The little Vanished promptly plopped down on his haunches.
"Now lay down!" Came the unicorn's next order.
Rover collapsed onto his stomach.
"Okay, rollover!" She commanded.
He rolled-over not once, not twice, but three times.
Vinyl clasped her hooves together in excitement. "Beg!"
Sure enough, the little beast balanced onto his hind hooves and begged as well as any dog.
"Dance!" Vinyl demanded.
And Rover, actually stood up slowly onto his hind legs and pulled a top hat and cane from, well, somewhere, before beginning to dance while singing out in more of a growl than an actual voice a catchy little tune.
When he had finished, Vinyl came up with her next order. "Play dead!"
To their great surprise, Rover just stood there and shifted around nervously before looking up at Vinyl with a sad expression.
"Okay, so that one was a little messed up. Sorry about that." The mare apologized, which was accepted when the Vanished rubbed happily against her leg.
"So, he's not dangerous?" Gallant concluded, beginning to study the Vanished.
"Not unless I want him to be." Vinyl said, before turning to Luna. "So will you help me? Please! Please! Please! Pleeeaaase?!"
Princess Luna sighed, but then smiled. "I don't see the harm in it. I suppose I could disguise him for you, and a little freshen-up spell couldn't hurt either."
Vinyl gasped in delight. "Can he be a mongoose?!"
"Well, I was thinking more of a dog." Luna began.
"Can he be a mongoose-dog?" Vinyl asked.
"What? No!" Luna put a hoof up to her head. "No such creature exists!"
"Oh." Vinyl's ear flattened out in disappointment. "Could you make him into a Cengoylan Tervuren then? I've always really wanted one."
"Now that," Luna lit up her horn. "I can do."
Rover was suddenly enveloped in the spell. When the globe of light had faded away, a little puppy was left. His neck up was black in color, and other than that his coat was mainly brown, with patches of umber, gold, white, and black. And his soulless eyes were now two different colors, one a shade of orange so dark it was almost red and then the other golden as Celestia's sun. To complete the disguise, he even now had a little chain collar with a speaker-shaped dog-tag which no doubt held his name on the back.
"Awwwww!" Vinyl squealed, picking him up in her magic. "Aren't you just the cutest wittle thing! Yes you are, yes you are! And you smell like roses!"
"I hope you don't mind, but the spell I used was something more than what I have planned for you. For Rover I used a transmogrification-illusion spell. He is now an actual dog, however, with your command of a key phrase he can transform back into his original form." The alicorn explained. "To complete the spell, all I need is that key phrase."
Vinyl put Rover down. "Um, let's see. I know! How about this? Nothing, just my, BASS CANNON!'
Gallant's ears folded against his head. "Is the yelling at the end really necessary?"
"Yes." Vinyl stated a-matter-of-factly.
"Then that shall be the phrase needed to activate the spell." Luna lit her horn again and a midnight glow enveloped the dog before quickly fading. "As for your illusion spell Vinyl, step forward."
Vinyl did as she was told. "So what you going to do princess?"
"I am going to use a special spell, but before I do you must promise to never tell Twilight Sparkle of it!" Luna suddenly flared her wings out. "Ever!"
"I won't, I won't!" Vinyl exclaimed. When Luna continued to stare at her Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Fine, I promise!"
Luna let out a sigh of relief. "Alright. Here's the spell."
The alicorn touched horns with Vinyl. A sudden flash went off in Vinyl's head, as her mind was instantly filled with the mechanics of the illusion spell.
When they finished, Vinyl stumbled back and rubbed her head. "Whoa. What was that?!"
"An instantaneous-learning spell." Luna calmly said. "It allows a unicorn to give or take any knowledge about any specific subject and learn everything there is about it, making a study session that would normally take hours obsolete as the knowledge is learned within a matter of seconds."
Vinyl's jaw dropped. "Do you have any idea how much easier that would have made school?!"
Luna frowned. "You must understand that this spell can only be used sparingly. Too much use, especially on yourself, and your brain will literally explode. This is why my sister and I have agreed to never teach it to Twilight Sparkle, she would most likely try to find a loophole around the inevitable outcome of using the spell frequently and only end up hurting herself, or worse. Now please Vinyl, try out that illusion spell."
Vinyl lit up her horn. The unicorn's body was enveloped in a crackling light that ran down the length of her being. Slowly her horn became smaller as the other eight disappeared, her missing ear reappeared, her scars begun to fade away, and her mane and tail grew back.
When Vinyl opened her eyes she was whole, with the exception of her blind eye.
The blue-maned mare looked back at her body, clean and free of any mutilation. She frowned. It didn't feel right to hide herself like this. 
"Wow." Vinyl muttered. "I, uh, never noticed how bright my coat is. Um, thanks princess."
"Your welcome Vinyl." Luna cocked her head and frowned slightly. "Although you may want to lift the illusion just a bit. You are supposed to be missing after all."
Vinyl nodded her head and lifted the spell just enough to reveal part of her frazzled mane and tail, and the claw marks on her right side.
Luna then looked to Scarlet. "Scarlet Thorn, you hath fought valiantly in this battle. I knew that I could count on you to not only guide Sound-Off in this adventure, but to save your fellow ponies. I am proud of you. But now it is time for you to return to your family, you hath fought well."
"But what about staging the Timber Wolf attack?" Scarlet asked. "Don't you need my help?"
"Hey," Vinyl put a good over her shoulder. "don't worry about it. We'll take care of it."
"We shall stage this little attack, so please go home and relax." Zecora said, putting on a smile.
"Well I guess it's settled." The pegasus said with a slight sigh. "Princess, if you would."
Sound-Off suddenly jumped off of Gallants back and rushed over to the pegasus to give her a hug. "I love you mom."
"Mom?" Gallant inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Long story." Sound-Off said with a small giggle.
Gallant just shrugged his shoulders, and smiled.
"I love you too my little spiky princess." The silver-maned mare hugged the dragoness back.
"Really?" Sound-Off rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the nickname, but then her expression changed into one of concern. "Will you be okay after all this?"
"Yes." The pegasus mare stated, offering a small smile. "I'll be fine."
"Ready?" Princess Luna asked as the reptile rejoined her unicorn's side.
Scarlet looked around at the friends and daughter she had made. "Ready."
Luna nodded her head and lit up her horn. The pegasus was lifted into the air as the magic bubble enveloped her. Her friends began to blur through the bubbles surface.
"Hey, come visit me sometime!" Vinyl called out just as the world began to spin and the bubble popped out of existence.

...

The windows of the silent and dark cloud mansion flashed with light.
Scarlet Thorn softly landed onto the floor of the entryway to her house.
Her body had been completely healed by Luna's magic, and her coat made clean. The pegasus looked around her house, realizing that Cobra Strike and Black Dawn were not home when Cobra- who refused to sleep unless her presence was next to him- did not come to check the sudden light.
Scarlet's eyes filled with painful tears as the walls she had built up over the years crumbled now that she no longer had to play pillar to her friends and absent son.
"I'll be just fine." She whispered, making her way up the staircase.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A white hoof turned the shower knob all the way to the left. The pipes began to whistle something fierce, a high-pitched scream of protest. Steam filled the air.
Scarlet Thorn stepped underneath the scalding water without a second thought.
The instant the water hit she winced. Pain shot through her entire body, prickles of heat which stabbed at her tender flesh. The pegasus gave no further reaction than that single wince to the pain.
Suddenly she screamed. A long and trembling wail of anguish and fury.
The wail ended in a sputtering cry and a desperate gasp for air. Scarlet immediately collapsed to the tiled floor, and began to cry.
It hurt.
The truth that she had put off for so long. It was her fault. Today had only been a reminder of that. Her thoughts turned to the pony flesh that she had accidentally eaten, and she promptly vomited all over her forelegs. The mare was glad that she was in the shower, and she simply let the water wash it away.
Phoenixes were not supposed to die. But hers had. Her little Phoenix had died. Her Phoenix had died because of her own incompetence and reckless behavior. The pegasus mare felt her stomach upset again, and the results were the same.
Scarlet could still remember her little yellow-white coat, and her orange and red mane. Her little ragged wings, the joints twisted completely upside down like her mother's. Her eyes had been pink. She had been so cold. Scarlet couldn't understand it; how could such a little creature be so cold upon its own birth?
She could still feel it inside of her. The death. She still denied it. She never had a daughter. So she told herself. But there was no more evading it now. She had tasted death today, she had waddled through its gullet, and she had nearly met its embrace many times. And none of it even began to compare to what she had felt that day, to what she felt now.
The silver-maned mare wasn't sure how much time had passed once her sobs had subsided. The heat of the water had completely numbed her skin, leaving it raw and tingling. At one point, the pain from the water stinging her flesh had become too great and she had been unable to stand any longer and had fallen to the floor. Scarlet weakly kicked out her hind legs, her hooves thumped dully against the glass. With much struggle and cries of protest from her body she slowly pushed herself off of the floor. Her drenched mane fell into her face, the heavy locks clinging to her cheeks. She didn't bother to part or move it.
Regret, anger, sorrow, guilt, and self-pity all swarmed around in her being at once, creating an elixir of venom that was anything but pleasant. The mare's thoughts slowly turned from her lost daughter to the daughter she had made. Sound-Off's life had been put in danger because of her. And not just Sound-Off, Zecora had also been dragged into this war because of her. Even Vinyl would have been better off never having saved her, she would have never learned about Z.O.D.I.A.C. if the pegasus had never accidentally told her with the slipping of her tongue. If it weren't for her, they would all be safe.
Her fault, it was all her fault.
Scarlet suddenly struck out at the glass with her hoof. The glass shattered upon impact, creating deep slashes that ran up the length of her foreleg. The mare hissed in pain, immediately drawing the bleeding limb closer to her. Which was a mistake as the water from the shower head only pricked at the wounds more. She stumbled out of the shower and over to the cabinet, leaving a red trail that marked her path. She fumbled to open the doors, and once she had she pushed bottles and other hygienic products to the floor. Eventually she found what she was looking for, a pair of tweezers.
The mare cursed out her frustrations as she once again regretted not being able to properly use her wings, taking the tweezers in her mouth and fighting to keep the sharp metal edges from jabbing into her flesh.	The shower still ran, now beginning to soak the ground. It took her a bit and a few mishaps, but Scarlet had somehow managed to remove most of the glass shards from her body. She trot back into the shower, using the water to rinse out any remaining slivers. She became memorized by the swirling stream of crimson as it entered the drain, mindlessly watching its path and pattern; ultimately losing track of time, and herself.

***

The Ponyville Hospital was currently in a state of panic.
Doctors and nurses ran from room to room; more than anything, they scrambled to and fro from the emergency room. A caramel-coated unicorn stallion with a brown mane galloped into the hallway, a determined look in his blue eyes. He quickly turned the corner to the ER, and slammed open the doors.
"What's her status?!" He demanded of yellow earth pony mare.
The blue-maned mare trot over to him, her head hung low. "Not good Doctor Horse, the patient's magic levels are still at a critical level."
"And the patient?" Doctor Horse inquired.
"Well, that's the odd thing. She appears to be fine." The nurse pony stated, offering the unicorn a clipboard.
"Thank you Nurse Snowheart. You may fall back to your previous duties." Doctor Horse ordered, taking the clipboard in his magic. As Snowheart walked away, the unicorn began to mutter out the clipboard's contents. "Brain waves, stable. No signs of emotional distress. There appears to be some physical damage to the body, but not enough to cause any lasting damage to the epidermis or nervous system. Breathing is stable, no changes to intake or output of air. Patient is responsive to light, no anomalies with the natural reflex test. Heartbeat, normal. It would appear that the only concern is the state of her magic, her horn is putting out unnatural amounts of a previously undiscovered form of magic that when tested appears to be love-based but with a distinct imprint reminiscent of dark magic. Results, inconclusive."
He reached the patient's room, and gently opened the door. Sitting up in the bed was a rather agitated looking Vinyl Scratch, who had her forelegs folded against her chest. At her side was a relieved and concerned Octavia, who had absolutely insisted quite strongly- and by that, she had forced her way though the nurse ponies and guards- that she was to remain by her friend's bedside until the DJ was able to leave the hospital.
Vinyl's ears flattened against her head, and her eyes narrowed. "So what? Are you gonna let me go or not? I told you, I feel fine."
"I think what my friend is trying to say," Octavia interrupted. "is that she is concerned about herself just as much as you or I, but since she's feeling no distress whatsoever, perhaps it is time we went home?"
"Well you see Ms. Melody," Doctor Horse began, flipping over to the next page of the clipboard. "that's exactly what I'm concerned about. It would indeed appear that Ms. Scratch is not suffering from any physical pain. For a unicorn exhibiting such incredible magic levels, to put it simply, that amount of magic should have backfired into her skull by now."
"Backfire... into her... skull?" Octavia asked, swaying on her hooves before she fell over and fainted.
Vinyl quickly caught her in her magic.
"DON'T DO THAT!" Doctor Horse suddenly shouted, rushing over and swatting at Vinyl's horn.
Vinyl yelped in surprise while Octavia fell to the ground with a thud. The blue-maned mare hit his hoof away.
"What the buck was that for?!" She demanded with a growl.
"DO NOT USE YOUR MAGIC!" Doctor Horse yelled into her face.
Vinyl waved her hoof in front of her muzzle. "Jeez, a little heavy on the garlic much?"
The other unicorn's ears folded back, but he tried to keep a calm demeanor. "Ms. Scratch, you must understand that the slightest usage of your magic and the energy will backfire down your horn and into your skull. Please, refrain from using your magic under any circumstance until we have found a way to safely channel the access energy, or I will be forced to subdue your magic with a magic-prohibition ring."
"Look, how many times do I have to tell you?!" Vinyl snorted, beginning to lose her patience. "I'm. Fine. I don't feel sick. My horn doesn't hurt or anything. And the only thing wrong, is that you and these other health-freaks are getting on my nerves!"
"Ms. Scratch! You must calm down!" Doctor Horse exclaimed. "We are only doing our job, and you are in danger of-"
"In danger of losing my temper!" Vinyl suddenly shouted. "I said I want to leave, Doctor. Now."
"That is not an option!" Doctor Horse stated. "I have almost three-quarters of my hospital staff working their flanks off to find a way to help you. Your life is at risk. We need to keep you here to monitor you for any changes, no matter how slight. I'm sorry, but you are not leaving this room."
"Oh, yeah?" Vinyl growled, throwing the blanket off. "We'll see about that."
The mare leapt off of the bed, much to the shock and distress of the stallion.
"Ms. Scratch!" Doctor Horse protested, trotting alongside her. "You must get back into bed this instant! Please, don't make me call the staff to sedate you!"
Vinyl swung around. "Sedate me?! Excuse you?! Just who in Tartarus do you think you are, trying to tell me what I can and can't do?!"
Doctor Horse began to step backwards as the enraged mare confronted him. "I'm- I'm a- a doctor! I know what is b- best for my pa- patients!"
"Oh really?!" The DJ snarled as they both stepped over Octavia. "You think just because you have some fancy piece of paper that you have the right to tell me when I'm okay to go home?!"
"Ms. Scratch! Please, calm yourself!" Doctor Horse pleaded. "I'm sure that we can talk about this like mature ponies if you just- YOOOOW!"
The unicorn stallion yelped as the unicorn picked him up in her magic and threw him across the room and against the back wall.
Vinyl's feral posture suddenly dropped, and she blinked away the shock.
"Oh crud!" She quickly galloped over to the dazed stallion. "I'm so sorry Doctor Horse! I- I don't know what overcame me! I didn't mean to- to- to-"
Vinyl caught the scent of blood.
Doctor Horse's back had been scraped open by the sink faucet, which he had impacted against when the mare had thrown him. The wound was now bleeding freely; not enough to be anything more than a minor discomfort, but enough to throb slightly and cause the unicorn to groan in pain.
The stallion pushed himself up, holding his head. He caught sight of the DJ's outstretched hoof, and smacked it away with an angry scowl. "You! You are lucky if you ever leave this hospital now! I am putting you in the Mentally Unstable Wing with all the other nut jobs and basket-weavers!"
"Wha- what?!" Vinyl exclaimed as the stallion pushed her aside.
Doctor Horse suddenly spun around. "You heard me! I'm going outside to warn the staff that there's a violent patient in here."
He picked up Octavia in his magic.
"Tavi!" Vinyl cried out, galloping over to them.
Doctor Horse quickly erected a bubble around the oncoming mare. "You're not going anywhere! That bubble can withstand anything you throw at it! Princess Cadance taught me that spell personally, and when combined with a regular shield spell there is nothing that gets in, or out."
"Tavi! Tavi, no!" Vinyl cried out, ramming into the bubble. "Let her go! Tavi!"
Doctor Horse paused just before he could reach the door. He glanced back at Vinyl. "I'm sorry. This is for your own good."
"TAVI!" Vinyl screamed.
And then everything went white.

...

Vinyl woke up to a pounding headache.
"Ugh, what happened?" She wondered aloud, rubbing her head as she stood up. "Tavi? Tavi!"
The blue-maned mare rushed over to where her friend lie unconscious, and snatched her into her forelegs.
Octavia's eyes slowly fluttered open. "What- what happened?"
The earth pony rolled onto her hooves, and gasped.
In front of them lie Doctor Horse, or rather, what remained of him. The stallion's limbs had been ripped clean off of his body. The legs were scattered around the room, one lie near his body, another was thrown into the corner, the third was tossed across the room and underneath a large pony-shaped bloodstain, and the final leg lie no more than a foot away from where Vinyl had woken up. That leg had what appeared to be bites taken out of it. The unicorn's body itself had sustained the most damage; deep marks were engraved into his flesh, as if something had gripped him with claws. His horn had been broken in half, the top half was missing. Worst of all, his belly and back had been ripped into and now his intestines hung out of his body; they too looked as if they had been munched on.
Octavia scrambled back, and begun to pant. "H- H- HELP!"
Vinyl stood there in shock. She couldn't believe what she saw. Her stomach lurched, and she held back its contents. Her mind was immediately taken back to the caverns, to the ponies that she had eaten. The mare's stomach threatened her again.
"VINYL!" Octavia cried out.
The DJ shook herself out of her memories, and stumbled back before galloping over to the other mare. They burst out of the room together, startling a nurse that had been just about to enter.
"Ms. Scratch!" Snowheart exclaimed. "What are you doing out of bed?!"
Octavia suddenly threw herself at the nurse. "Nurse Snowheart! You must do something at once! Something got into Vinyl's room and killed Doctor Horse!"
"Killed? Doctor?" The yellow-mare breathlessly began, before bursting free of the shock. "SECURITY! SECURITY!"
The mare's cries caused a fuss, doctors and nurses alike stopped whatever they were doing and poked their heads out to see what the commotion was about. A brown stallion with a buzz-cut white mane galloped over.
"What is it Snowheart?!" He demanded.
"It's- it's Doctor Horse!" Snowheart shouted. "He's- he's dead! Something murdered him Night Watch!"
Night Watch's ears folded back. "What do you mean something murdered him?!"
The stallion burst into the room, as the worried whispers of the hospital staff filled the air. A few minutes later Night Watch trot back out, closing the door behind him.
"Well?" One of the nurses spoke up.
Night Watch vomited all over the floor, before collapsing.
"Ev- everywhere! There are pieces of him everywhere!" Night Watch stuttered out, his voice shaking. "And whatever it was, it- it- it ate him! Oh Faust, it ate him!"
One of the nurses rushed forward to console the stallion, helping him to his hooves and away from the door.
The whispers grew into confused and frightened shouts as the staff began to panic.
Another doctor, Doc Top as his identification card promoted, suddenly took charge of the situation.
"Everypony quiet!" He yelled. Once the cries of hysteria had passed, he spoke again. "Redheart, Tenderheart, and Sweetheart, go check on every patient in this wing!"
The three nurse ponies nodded their heads in confirmation before running off to check the individual rooms.
"Lilac Hearts and Snowheart, go check the Mentally Unstable Wing to make sure none of the more violent patience somehow found a way to escape! Night Watch, I need you and your guard split into the Mentally Unstable Wing, the Foal's Wing, and the Maternity Wing. Now!"
Lilac nodded her head, taking the quivering stallion with her. Night Watch managed to find his voice, and spoke into his walkie-talkie.
"Candy Mane, Foal's Wing!" Doc Top barked out to the apricot-coated mare. "Take Nursery Rhyme and High Spirits with you! And I don't want a single word of this making it to their ears!"
The pink-maned earth pony saluted him before galloping out. The yellow-coated pegasus mare, and filly nurse-in-training followed.
"Sunlight, Icy Drop, Cerulean Skies, Maternity Wing!" Doc Top ordered. "I want that entire wing triple-checked!"
The three stallions dashed off into the halls, disappearing around the corner.
"Everypony else, you're with me." The stallion finished. "We'll be splitting into groups of three to cover the rest of the hospital. You are not to separate from your group for any reason, understood?"
A series of confirming nods and cries followed.
"Good, now find your partners!" Doc Top sighed once everypony else had left. He then trot over to Octavia and Vinyl. "The two of you go home, and be sure to lock your doors and windows. If something is loose in Ponyville, I want you to be as safe as possible."
"But what about Vinyl?" Octavia asked.
Doc Top glanced over at the unicorn mare, and pushed back up his glasses. "She looks just fine to me."
"But-" Octavia began.
Vinyl stuck her hoof over the cellist's mouth. "Will do doctor!"
The DJ then quickly ushered her across the halls, down the stairs, and out of the hospital.
"Vinyl?! What are you doing?!" Octavia demanded. "You need help!"
"No, I don't!" Vinyl stated. "You heard the stallion, I'm fine! Besides, do you really want to stay someplace where a pony just got bucking murdered?!"
"Well, no. No, I don't." Octavia said, her brows furrowing in worry. "Oh my, I do hope everypony else is safe!"
"I'm sure they'll be fine! I mean, they have all of security on look out, right?" Vinyl assured. "Come on, let's go home!"
"Alright then, carry on." Came the earth pony's response as she joined Vinyl's side.
Vinyl Scratch suddenly shivered. Her entire body felt cold, even though there were still plenty of warm nights left until autumn. As they passed a house, she couldn't help but to notice the thermostat on the wall boasted of an even ninety-degree temperature. And despite everything, Vinyl strangely felt, hungry.

***

Zecora chased around Rover with a broom. She was suddenly beginning to regret having agreed to watch him until Vinyl was discharged from hospital care.
"Just what is it you are trying to do?! My home is no zoo!" The zebra exclaimed, gesturing to all of the knocked over potions and herbs.
Rover whimpered, dodging the broom's furious swipes. He ran over to the door and began to scratch at it.
"If outside is what you need, then I will take you to do the deed." Zecora said, grabbing a rope from a nearby shelf.
She then looped it around the dog's collar, and opened the door. However, what she didn't expect or could have anticipated, was that even in this form, Rover still had all of his strength. The second the door was open Rover burst into a charge, immediately dragging the bewildered and startled zebra behind him and towards Ponyville.
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!" Zecora screamed out, smacking against roots and rocks.
The two soon disappeared into, much to Zecora's dismay, a patch of very thick brambles.

***

The streets of Ponyville were free of any life other than the trees and flowers growing from their boxes, well, almost empty anyway.
Trotting down one such empty street was a pegasus mare. Or at least that's what an onlooker would have thought. That mare, was actually a stallion. He was built much smaller than other stallions, with a shorter muzzle, and less bulky legs. His parents liked to say it was because he never grew out of his youth. Of course it didn't help that he kept his golden mane and tail long and trailing. But he had become famous enough in Equestria to the point where a mistaken identity was just as rare as a day without over-enthusiastic fan-ponies or the ever-intrusive paparazzi.
Cobra Strike trot through the Ponyville streets, enjoying the freedom that the curfew gave him.
Normally, he would have had to fly home to avoid public confrontation. But thanks to Twilight and Mayor Mare's orders, every other pony was safely locked away in their homes with the curtains drawn shut. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been out like this, simply enjoying the warm summer air and the beautiful night sky. The pegasus paused to glance up at it, from where he was at he could see the Scorpio constellation glimmering in the heavens.
He smiled, the golden-maned pony couldn't wait to get home and see his special-somepony. It had been far too long since they had spent quality time together, as mare and stallion. And he felt as if tonight was the perfect night for romance. They both needed to unwind after all. And thankfully, it seemed that Black Dawn was out for the count. With that thought in his head, Cobra picked up his pace with renewed vigor.
A couple of more streets and then he was on Saddle Row. Saddle Row itself was one of the larger streets in Ponyville, and was where all of Ponyville's more aristocratic families tended to live. The Rich family, for example, lived on this particular road. As did Silver Spoon and the rest of the Silver Polish family in their mansion. The structures themselves were decently spaced out, with a good half-mile of wildlife in between each fence. Cobra's cloud mansion actually floated above the road.
To a bystander the mansion appeared to be simply tethered to the ground; however, the cloud home was actually protected by an invisible force-field. And the only way to bypass this force-field, was to know the code. Cobra Strike moved the box for Dragon Pits from underneath his wing to his back, being extra careful not to disturb his son as he did so. The pegasus then unfurled his wings and took to the air. He pressed a hoof against the barrier, and a small pink text box appeared.



Call






CODE:



Cobra quickly glanced around for any signs of the paparazzi before entering the code.



PHEONIX



A few seconds went by, and then the text box closed with a happy chime. A hole appeared in the bubble and Cobra flew through it, the hole itself quickly mended once the pegasus was across. He landed on the cloud's plush surface, and opened the door. The mansion was dark, but this was nothing abnormal. Scarlet often spent her days in her office with her typewriter, shunning the outside world and negating even the simple things such as eating or drinking.
Cobra dropped the Dragon Pits box off on the table as he made his way upstairs. Thankfully, the cloud floor padded his steps and helped to not disturb Black Dawn. Within a few minutes the older pegasus had reached his son's room. The little colt's room was filled with toys- probably more than one colt or filly could possibly ever need- so the golden-maned pegasus was careful where he stepped. Cobra transferred Black Dawn into his bed, and pulled the covers over him. He then smiled lovingly at the little colt, who curled into a ball and immediately latched onto a toy bat.
"Sleep well." Cobra whispered as he exited the room, slowly and gently closing the door behind him.
Cobra Strike's smile suddenly turned lecherous. He slunk down the hallway like a cat stalking its prey, feeling the excitement and anticipation build up. The pegasus stopped outside of Scarlet's office and slowly twisted the knob so that he could peek inside without being noticed. Much to his surprise, the office was dark. Bewildered, and worried if only just a little, he turned his attention to the room that he and his special-somepony shared. However, Scarlet was not in their bed either. Cobra's frown deepened, until he heard the sound of water hitting the floor of the shower. 
The pegasus stallion flared out his wing and puffed out his chest, before setting the cake box on the nightstand. He then trot over to the bathroom. His grin widened and he repressed a growl as he drew closer to the door. The golden-maned pony suddenly threw open the door to the bathroom, ready to pounce. Then he noticed the chill in the air and the state of the bathroom.
"Scarlet?!" Cobra cried out, his hooves crunching against glass and sploshing in the water as he rushed over to her. He yelped as he entered the shower and the freezing water hit his back. "By Celestia's flaming tit! What in Tartarus happened?!"
The mare before him, who was leaning against the wall with her uninjured foreleg, muttered in a hoarse voice, "The water was hot when I first got in."
"How long have you been in here?!" Cobra softly asked, braving the cold and putting a hoof over the smaller pony. His face paled upon seeing her bleeding foreleg. "What happened to your leg?!"
Scarlet shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Accident."
The stallion's face grew into one of even more concern and a desperate need for consolation, but he knew not to press the situation at the moment. At least not while his special-somepony was bleeding waterfalls. With a wing he turned off the shower, and led the dead-eyed mare into their bedroom and over to their bed where he patiently dressed her wounds in silence. Scarlet allowed her limbs to be as limp as a rag doll's as the stallion dried her fur and wrapped her foreleg in gauze. Once he had finished, Cobra turned his attention to bathroom; within almost half an hour he had swept up the glass, dried the floor, and returned everything to its proper place. The entire time Scarlet simply sat there on their bed, wordless with her head hung down.
As Cobra flew into their room after throwing the towels into the wash, his face furrowed into one of a pony who felt troubled by something that he had no control over. "Now what happened? Please, talk to me."
"I- I- The Everfree- Sound-Off, Zecora, and Vinyl- The Tree of Chaos- Grim Noise-" The pegasus mare stuttered out before taking a deep breath. Upon exhaling she looked into Cobra's concerned ice-blue eyes, and began to recount the day's events to the best of her memory and with as much detail as she could.

...

Cobra Strike stared at his mare in shock as she finished telling him everything that happened.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" He suddenly yelled.
Scarlet winced. "Cobra, please."
"No!" The stallion exclaimed. "No Scarlet! How could you do this?! Why didn't you come get me?! You know I would have dropped everything for you! We could have faced this together! But instead you chose to be reckless and foalish, just as you always do!"
"Cobra, please."
"What were you even thinking?! For that matter, do you even think?!"
"Cobra, please."
"Don't you even remember what happened last time you went and did something like this?! When is it enough Scarlet?! When is it enough?!"
The silver-maned pony's face fell. She felt the flame in her stomach push itself up into her throat, scorching it. Her breathing quickly grew ragged and uneven as her jaw tightened and stiffened. She snapped.
"SHUT UP!" She roared, her voice a throaty growl.
Cobra flinched.
"Don't you think I know that?!" Scarlet shouted, her ears flattening against her head as more tears filled her eyes. "How could I forget?! It's my fault! I put Sound-Off in danger, she could have died! I could have lost her! Just like I lost my daughter!"
Cobra's mouth hung open just a little, before he managed to find his words. "Scarlet I- You know that- Nopony is- Ugh. We've been over this. It wasn't your fault. You should know that Scarlet."
"It is my fault!" Scarlet argued. "I was the one who was reckless and cost us the mission! I was the reason those ponies died that night! It was because of my impulsive and thoughtless behavior that Phoenix Feather died! And it was because of me that the ponies that I care about were nearly killed, just like today!"
He wrapped a wing around her. "Then, if you were so worried, why didn't let me come with you?"
"Because you just would have treated me like some porcelain doll!" She snarled. "Ever since I lost Phoenix you've been treating me as if the slightest breeze is going to break me! I can't even clean up after breakfast without you asking if I need your help! And I haven't gone on any missions other than the rare patrol because you've been taking on every task Luna offers us alone!"
"Are you kidding me?!" Cobra withdrew his wing. "You think that I'm holding you back?! I'm only trying to show you that I care! And do you think losing- losing her- was easy for me either?! I don't even get to see you anymore! Ever since we lost our daughter, you've done nothing but lock yourself away in your little office and have done what exactly? Sit there and twiddle your hooves? Staying up all night with the door closed? Write your crummy books? Well look how well that's going! How many copies have you even sold?! When's the last time you even finished an actual chapter?! I know that you're way past your deadlines, so what have you been doing?! When's the last time you even paid any attention to me?! Or for that matter even appreciated just how much I do for you?! How hard I try to pretend that everything is okay just to make you happy?! By the way, I got you a cake you ungrateful-"
He immediately stopped himself upon seeing the vast hurt in his mare's eyes and her quivering lip.
Cobra took a shaking breath. "What I mean is, when's the last time we've gone on a date? Hmm? I don't think you've even left the house since we first moved in, and that was almost five-years ago. I know that I'm gone a lot too, but I always try to be here with you whenever I can. And what about our son? He needs his mother. You don't spend any time with him either."
Scarlet sniffled. "I spend more time with him than you."
Cobra growled in frustration. "Are you trying to start a fight? All that I'm saying is making him something to eat and taking him with you on errands, that's not actually spending time with him! You know that he nearly pitched a fit because he wanted to play Dragon Pits with you? And what about your friends? I haven't seen you spend any of the time with the girls like you use to. I'm concerned Scarlet."
The pegasus mare's hooves grew cold in realization. She hadn't thought of herself as a factor to the problem. She had vented herself to Vinyl about how Cobra was never there for her, when in fact it was quite the opposite and she was never there for him.
"Oh." Came her soft response. "I- I didn't realize that..."
As her words trailed off, Cobra gave her a sympathetic look. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best of me. It's just, I miss you. A lot actually. You've blocked yourself off ever since that day, built a wall so high that not even I can climb over it. And that's honestly why I treat you as if you're going to break, because I know you are."
Scarlet looked down at her hooves, and gulped. "I'm- I'm sorry too. I overreacted, didn't I?"
Cobra's eyes rolled upward, and he shrugged his head.
"I just- I just can't seem to let her go." Scarlet squeezed her eyes shut.
The pegasus mare opened her eyes when she felt a warmth spread along her body. Cobra had thrown himself against her. "Nopony is asking you to let her go. I'm not asking you to let her go. But I am asking you to let go of the pain. Please Scarlet, stop trying to carry this burden on your own."
The pegasus mare snuggled into him, feeling immediate relief. "Cobra..."
"It's okay." He gently assured, his own eyes beginning to glisten. "I'm here."
He stroked her mane, letting her cry into his chest and curse out her frustrations until her wails became whimpers. If there was one thing he knew about his mare, it was that she wouldn't be able to feel at peace until every last tear had been shed.
Cobra couldn't help but to smile at her once she had finished.
"What?" Scarlet demanded, wiping the wetness from her cheeks.
"Nothing." Cobra teased, playing with her mane with his wing. "Only that you're just as beautiful as the day we first met."
"C- Cobra!" Scarlet blushed.
"And that you'll still be this beautiful on our wedding day." He stated, draping a foreleg around her and pulling her against him.
Scarlet squeaked. "Cobra please!"
"Please, what?" He asked, gently massaging her lower back with his hoof.
"Please stop this- Oh who am I kidding? Come on my mischievous fox," She pressed herself atop of him with a kiss to his nek. "let's have some fun. We need it."
"You deserve it." He said with a sultry wink.

***

A little cottage sat upon a hill, one half painted various shades of purple and the other a peaceful shade of brown. This one little cottage stood out from the rest of the homes in Ponyville; it was musical in itself, with a chimney designed to look like organ pipes, flower boxes that resembled keyboards, and a hedge shaped to look like a flag eighth note. The lights were all turned off at this point in the night, but a shuffling followed by various crashings could be heard from within.
From within the darkness of the kitchen, a shadow could be seen- illuminated by the weak light of the refrigerator- scouring through the ice box; it bit into various foods before tossing them carelessly over its shoulder in dissatisfaction and growing impatience.
Vinyl Scratch tore open a plastic carton of blueberries, raising the box into the air before dumping all of the little violet balls into her mouth. She chewed a little before spitting them all out in one giant blue glob, horrendous. The mare continued deeper into the fridge, stepping a back hoof onto the cold plastic and becoming sticky with boysenberry jam.
Behind her lie a disaster zone; a mine-field of food that littered the entirety of the floor, everything from kale chips to parts of daffodil sandwiches. As she knocked about in the fridge various liquids tipped over and began to pour from their containers in a faucet of multiple smells and colors, which made a mess of the floor below. She stuck her head underneath a stream of milk; it was good, but nowhere near good enough. Vinyl wiped her mouth and continued her search before suddenly finding herself at the back of the fridge.
"No, no!" Vinyl protested, frantically searching the shelves. Her belly began to rumble louder.
She quickly galloped over to the cupboards, throwing them open in her flurry. Her eyes came to rest on the first thing she saw, uncooked pasta noodles. Without any qualms Vinyl tore open the box and began to shovel the raw pasta into her mouth. She choked down as much of it as she could before throwing it aside in trade for a tub of frosting which she anxiously licked up. She gagged, nasty.
"It's not enough!" Vinyl Scratch snarled, scarfing down a hoof-full of pretzel sticks with such sheer animosity that a starved dog would have looked well fed.
Why was she so hungry? No, hungry didn't even begin to convey the pain in her belly; she was starving. Beyond starving even. Her belly felt as if it was twisting inwards, attempting to eat itself. She had awoken in the night covered in a sheen of cold sweat to such a foul and unspeakable pain in her body, a hunger to beat all hungers. All she could think about was satisfying that hunger, ending the excruciating pain.
But almost as bad- if not so worse- was the cold she felt throughout her mutilated body. And she had only been growing colder since leaving the hospital. Perhaps it was simply from practically shoving herself inside the refrigerator, but this cold felt much deeper. Her bones themselves felt as if they had been covered in a sheet of ice, and her gums ached incessantly either from biting into multiple raw foods or from the terrible chill inhabiting the mare's body.
Vinyl stumbled over to the counter top where a bowl of fruit had been placed. She fumbled with one of the fruits before bringing it up to her mouth and biting into a genuine crimson Sweet Apple Acre's apple. And she immediately spat it out. It was absolutely vile, and she actually had to keep herself from vomiting. Her stomach growled again.
The unicorn gripped her belly in agony, why did it hurt so bad? She threw the apple angrily across the room, where it bounced off the wall with an audible thud. The mare couldn't help but to notice how the red glinted in the darkness. The color itself looked, appetizing.
"Vinyl? Vinyl is that you?" Came her roommate's voice from down the hallway. "Are you alright?"
Vinyl's stomach went from a growl to a roar.
The hunger was unbearable. It demanded satisfaction with an iron hoof.  Vinyl crawled over towards the entryway, nibbling at various foods she had previously discarded as she inched forward.
Disgusting. It all tasted disgusting. As if she were eating sand, her mouth dried up and she choked as she tried to swallow. Finally the mare collapsed against the floor and began to sob as she curled up into a ball from the hunger pangs.
"Vinyl?! Vinyl what's wrong?! What happened?!" Octavia demanded as she galloped to her friend.
"Ooooooh." The unicorn moaned. "It hurts."
"What hurts?! Vinyl, tell me what hurts!" The light grey mare pleaded, cradling Vinyl in her hooves.
Vinyl's body was racked by a chill, causing her to tremble. "Oc- Octy? Why is it- is it so bucking c- cold?"
"What do you mean?" Octavia inquired in confusion. "It's at least eighty-two degrees in here. Vinyl what's wrong? Do you have a fever?"
"No!" Vinyl angrily groaned. "It's freezing! And I'm so- so-"
Another bellow from her stomach stopped the mare.
"Are- are you hungry?" Octavia worriedly asked. "I'll make you something, and- and I'll turn up the heater too."
The cellist picked herself up, but the white-coated mare clung to her like fur to static.
"Don't leave me!" She begged, burying her face into Octavia's warm fur.
Yes, warm fur. A spark of envy lit up the unicorn's heart. Why was Octavia so warm when she was so cold? Why wasn't she sharing her warmth? She could hear the other mare's heart beat in her chest, pumping warmth throughout her body. Thump. Thump. Thump. Vinyl's frown deepened into a scowl, and then from scowl to sneer. Ice, there was ice in her veins. She was so cold. She was so, hungry.
Vinyl's own heartbeat began to slow down. Surely Octavia wouldn't mind sharing, right? That's what friends did after all, they shared. Sharing is caring; since Octavia was her friend, her best friend- who obviously cared about her- it was only right that she shared.
"Vinyl?" Octavia asked, her voice little more than a gentle whisper.
Vinyl Scratch began to smile, it was the smile of a predator who had worked its prey into a corner.
"I'm so cold, and so hungry." The mare repeated, hiding her eyes in the crook of Octavia's shoulder.
"I'll go get you some blankets, and then make you some soup." Octavia promised as she smoothed down her best friend's mane. "Don't worry Vinyl, I've got- AAAAAGH!"
The earth pony suddenly cried out in pain as Vinyl sunk her teeth into her flesh. The coppery taste from the blood sliding down her throat was delicious. Octavia's natural instinct suddenly kicked in, and with a mighty kick to the unicorn's belly- and the painful ripping of skin and muscle- the mare had knocked Vinyl away. The white-coated pony crashed against the counter with the crunching of bones.
Despite the fear and surprise pounding at her heart and every instinct screaming at her to run, Octavia took a step towards her fallen friend. "V- Vinyl?"
Like a zombie rising from its grave, Vinyl slowly pushed herself up and twisted her body around. Her head faced the black and white tiles below, giving Octavia no way to anticipate the unicorn's next move. Vinyl suddenly growled, a deep resounding growl that came from the depths of Tartarus itself. When she did raise her head- Octavia gasped- her eyes were little more than two red pinpricks of glowing scarlet set back into deep black empty eye sockets. There was a sharp cracking sound.
Vinyl's stomach began to cave inwards, almost to a nonexistent state. Her ribs poked out just underneath her skin, and all the muscles and fat drained away from her body. Her limbs stretched out, not to disproportionate lengths but just enough to make her Celestia's height. Black fur began to rapidly grow from her chest, forming a gorgeous and luxurious black collar. Her hooves began to split apart until the point where they became cloven, and the edges grew sharp but short claws. Her gums began to bleed as her teeth lengthened and sharpened; and, where she had been missing teeth before, long icicles began to grow out of the holes left behind. Finally a pair of deer antlers sprouted from the top of her head like a tree growing from sapling to maturity, it shot up like a shoot and then branched outwards.
The illusion spell fell away, revealing her ugly scars and twisted horns.
Octavia scrambled back in terror, bumping into the hallway wall behind her and knocking down some pictures of Vinyl and her. The glass frames cracked and splintered off.
Vinyl suddenly roared, a sound that shook the entire house and burst Octavia's eardrums. The mare began to run without even realizing it, making her way towards the door.
"Come back!" The hideous thing that was Vinyl pleaded in a voice not at all unlike hers, but with a slight distortion to it and an echoing whisper that followed each word. "I'm so cold Tavi! Please just give me a little of your warmth. Won't you help an old pal out?"
Octavia didn't answer, she just galloped ahead without looking back.
When there was no reply the once-Vinyl roared again in anger, and began to charge after the mare. Octavia heard her crash into the wall behind her, and acknowledged the crunching of glass as the monster stepped on their photos. Suddenly the hoof-stomps came thundering from behind her, and Octavia couldn't help but to risk a glance back as she approached the upcoming corner. The thing that had been her friend was quickly gaining on her, tearing up their fragile floorboards as it ran.
Octavia suddenly hit the wall, the force of it was just great enough to daze her and knock her off her hooves. Vinyl slowed down as she approached, putting one hoof in front of the other she stepped closer and closer to the earth pony. When Octavia's vision had cleared enough, she found the monster only a few feet away. Her tail underneath her grew warm and wet, she had soiled herself. This was it. She was going to die, at the hooves- or rather claws- of her best friend. The grey mare closed her eyes, knowing she very well couldn't escape at this point, and waited for death to embrace her.
It never did. Octavia slowly opened her eyes to find Vinyl staring at her, and then she realized that the monster was looking above her. The mare followed Vinyl's gaze upwards, to find a large circular mirror that they had placed there when they first moved in. Perhaps it was that memory from that day, or maybe it was the image that was reflected in it, but Vinyl stopped.
Her growls died down, and the dots of crimson in her eyes expanded outwards to the size of a normal pony's pupil. Her shoulders hunched. "T- Tavi? Tavi what happened? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Vinyl suddenly caught sight of her reflection, noticing it for the first time as her conscious self.
"Octavia! Look out! It's a Vanished!" The monstrous unicorn suddenly spun around, ready to defend her friend.
Her glare softened when she realized that there was nothing there. She turned back to face her friend and the mirror; sure enough, the monster was still there. Vinyl blinked, and then raised a hoof into the air. The monster did the same. She then gradually approached the object in question, as if attempting to figure out if it was a trick mirror or not. Standing over Octavia- who trembled underneath- Vinyl pulled the mirror off of its hook and stared at herself.
She certainly looked like a Vanished, but there were a few missing details. Her eyes lacked the mad swirls that the Vanished held, and her body was missing the natural armor that each possessed. She wasn't as tall, nor was her body- excluding her thin belly- elongated to such extraneous limits. Her antlers were also plain, her horn the same length, and there was the matter of the silky mane around her neck. But of course, most astounding of all were the icicles that made up her teeth and the chilled breath that she exhaled each and every time.
"Vinyl?" Octavia squeaked, her voice unsure and bewildered.
Vinyl placed the mirror back onto its hook before falling back onto all four hooves and collapsing onto her haunches. She caught the scent of blood, and then took notice of her friend's bleeding shoulder. She had to fight back the hunger; tears began to leak out from the corners of her eyes. "Tavi, Tavi what's happening to me?"
The earth pony- despite her protesting mind- crawled over to Vinyl. She wrapped her hooves around the monster's thin middle, heart beating rapidly. "I- I don't know."
Vinyl rested her head on Octavia's good shoulder, drawing the mare closer with a pitifully skinny foreleg. She still felt hungry, and she still felt cold; but mostly, she felt scared. A single word came to her mind. She didn't know where it had come from, or why she had thought of it. The word had almost come to her on its own, popping suddenly into her mouth as if it were meant to be there. It just felt, right.
"Windigo."

***

Sound-Off yawned, nearly falling asleep over the old tome.
Currently, she was lying on her stomach atop her nice plush bed. Around her lie several different large tomes opened to various pages, three of which were written by Star Swirl the Bearded and the others by the elemental dragon lords. Each tome was easily over a thousand, perhaps even two-thousand, years old; written before the elemental dragon lords came together under a single proud flag.
Sound-Off repressed another yawn, and flipped the page.
Metal Dragon Lord Metalicana had such interesting musings about the most trivial of things. His spells and incantations, well articulately written, were only sidelined because of his excessive margin notes about the world around him. More often than not, most of his ramblings focused around some character only referred to as, 'the Little Black Fox'. For a dragon famed for having such an impenetrable hard shell, Metalicana was rather soft.
She pushed away Metalicana's black-covered book, and picked up a light-blue one.
Unlike Metalicana's writings, Wind Dragon Lord Grandeeny's spells were written like formulas. There was no room for error on her fine pages, not even a single drop of ink had been smudged. She was always spoken of in the dragon kingdom as being the most reserved and judgmental of the elemental dragon lords. However, she also was famous for her abilities as a healer. Most of her spells were not designed for any form of combat, in fact, almost every spell was supportive magic. But Sound-Off's favorite by far was a spell referred to as 'Milky Way'. The spell actually allowed the user to summon the soul of a long-since dead dragon.
Which brought Sound-Off to her next tome, a dark red-covered book that reeked of sulfur and ash. Fire Dragon Lord Igneel's Spell Book. The dragoness had always grown-up hearing tales of the great dragon lord. Most of the stories portrayed him as kind and benevolent towards all creatures, although others described him as violent, rash, and arrogant. From his tome, Sound-Off was able to tell that he was indeed all of those things. He too, like Metalicana, kept records of a special being Igneel deemed, 'Salamander'. These journal entries spoke fondly of Salamander, recalling days of innocence and many difficult training sessions. They were, however, separated completely from the spell portion of the book which was just as detailed as Grandeeny's.
Sound-Off yawned again, her eyelids began to grow heavy.
The little dragoness's ultimate goal, was to master every spell known to dragon kind. Which alone proved to be a difficult task even with her perfect memory. Even more so considering the nature of Draconian magic. Unlike Equestrian magic, Draconian magic did not follow the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Draconian Magic was based off of the ingestion of a particular element to make the energy needed for spell use. Sound-Off herself, being a fire dragon, did enjoy munching from the fireplace every now and then.
However, her ultimate goal was to learn and master Grandeeny's 'Milky Way' in order to summon the soul of Fire Dragon Lord Igneel himself. The problem with this was that dragons can't really learn each other's magic. Not to say it was impossible, cases were rare but in some instances a dragon was able to master two  distinct elements. But even with the growing number of mix bloodied dragons, or Impures as they were derogatorily referred as, the ability to successfully use magic different than one's own was still just out of reach.
Sound-Off scanned over the page in front of her before turning to the two books to her side. The black-covered tome of Shadow Dragon Lord Skiadrum, and the white-covered tome of Light Dragon Lord Weisslogia.
Skiadrum and Weisslogia were the most famous of the elemental dragon lords for their ability to freely use each other's magic. According to history, they were the very first dragons to master an element other than their own. Perhaps, the answer lie in their tomes.
The little dragoness's eyes suddenly caught sight of the final tome.
Compared to the others it was rather mundane, the cover was a mud-brown and lacked in decor, while the pages stuck out at odd angles. However, this was the most important tome in all of dragon history. It was the spell book of the very first Dragon Lord, the one that had united every species of dragon and brought a golden age of knowledge that turned dragon from savage beast to an intelligent creature, and the one who had ultimately united dragon and pony kind together.
It was the tome of Dragon Lord Belserion. With the wisdom of Dragon Lord Belserion, Igneel, Grandeeny, Metalicana, Skiadrum, and Weisslogia had managed to kill the tyrannical, cynical, greedy, and war-hungry Acnologia; the Chaos Dragon Lord. But not before Acnologia had cursed dragon kind; all dragons would now experience dragon greed, which if left unrestrained would revert a dragon back to the dark-ages where dragons were no more than primitive beasts without mind or heart. His second curse however was far worse, all dragon eggs can no longer hatch on their own and require a powerful magical radiation to birth a new dragon.
Sound-Off herself had been hatched as part of the Draco-Solar Pact.
The Pact itself was strictly between Celestia and whomever was current Dragon Lord. The details of it were simple; the dragons were to give up their clutches to Equestrian authorities, who would then deliver the eggs to the solar princess herself. Celestia would then use the eggs as part of her 'test' to see which unicorns were powerful enough to join her precious School for Gifted Unicorns, and the unicorn that hatched the dragon would be required to help raise them until the time came for the dragon to decide whether or not they wanted to remain in Equestria or return to their homelands.
Most chose to leave, but some- like the case with Fillydelphia's Dragon Town- remained in Equestria. Although even with the Pact being common knowledge, most of Equestria chose to ignore it. Dragons were some of the most discriminated creatures, demeaned to the savagery of Cockatri. And thus many of the dragons in Equestria who lived outside of Fillydelphia such as herself, chose to live a reclusive life no matter how outgoing their patriarch or matriarch may be. As such, they were rarely seen. The only exception was the royal dragon, who was hatched by Celestia and then immediately returned to their dragon parent.
Sound-Off herself had yet to decide whether or not she would stay in Equestria or return to her awaiting family in the Dragon Lands. And she was actually terrified at the thought.
She could choose to stay in Equestria, but eventually she would grow. Not to ginormous portions so long as she monitored her greed, but at least to a state of where most Equestrians wouldn't be comfortable around her. Well, much less than they already were. And like it or not, she would eventually have to leave Gallant's side. And not just Gallant, Scarlet, Luna, Missy, Tornado, and all the others as well. What else was she supposed to do? Live with Zecora out in the Everfree? Wouldn't that be perfect? A fire-breathing creature of pure destruction living with all the other monsters in the forest.
Sound-Off gave out a frustrated sigh, and closed the tome in front of her.
"Sound-Off? Are you still awake?" Gallant Aurora demanded upon hearing her sigh.
He opened the door to her room and Sound-Off immediately felt as if her privacy was being invaded. She snorted out a small flame as he entered, and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah dad, I'm still awake." She dully stated.
The reptile only referred to him as dad when they were alone, away from the judgmental eyes of pony society who would have thought of their father-daughter relationship as blasphemous.
"What could you possibly be studying at this hour?" Gallant inquired, trotting over to her bedside.
Sound-Off scowled at him. "It's rude to peek over someone's shoulder you know."
"Are those the tomes of the Dragon Lords?" The unicorn asked. "When and where did you get those?"
"Nana Luna." Sound-Off quickly said.
Nana, was also what she typically called Luna outside of the public's eye. Luna herself was both fond of the nickname, but had also developed a distaste for it. She enjoyed the connotations of it meaning that Sound-Off thought of her as family, and also because it simply sounded so cute when the dragoness had first learned how to speak. But the lunar princess was definitely displeased with the implications of age, Luna was still in her youth after all. Or at least that's what she insisted.
"I can't believe mother lent you these tomes! These are precious one-of-a-kind spell books!" Gallant exclaimed. "Still."
He picked up every one of the books in his magic, closing them before telekinetically stacking them atop one another.
"Hey!" Sound-Off protested, pushing herself up. "I was reading those!"
"No, you're supposed to be sleeping." Gallant stated. "And I'm going to be holding these hostage for the night. You can have them back tomorrow."
"That's not fair!" She whined, clenching her fists together. "I'm not a baby anymore! I'm almost thirty!"
"In dragon years, but in pony years you're still only six." The unicorn reminded, extinguishing the purple flame in her lantern. "So stop arguing with me, and. Go. To. Sleep."
He then walked out of the room, books in tow.
Sound-Off growled out her frustrations, falling back into the bad habit of biting into her pillow. A few minutes and some angry chewing later, the dragoness spat out a couple of feathers and flopped down onto her bed. For what felt like hours she tossed and turned; repeatedly throwing the pillow over her head before tossing it elsewhere, flipping from her side to her stomach, wiggling her toes, shifting her arms and legs, and pulling the blanket above her head before popping out for a breath of fresh air. She looked at her alarm clock and groaned, it had only been little over half an hour since Gallant had taken away her books.
She just couldn't sleep. Not only because she wanted to continue studying the spell books of the original six dragon lords, but because she also couldn't get the big question out of her mind. When the time came, would she choose to stay in Equestria with the family she had grown up with? Or would she leave her long-time home to be with the family that had been patiently awaiting her return?
The reptile squeezed back the tears. She didn't want to leave Gallant or Luna, but she very well couldn't expect to live with her foster family forever. Gallant would one day grow old and die, everypony she loved and had or would ever know would die during her lifetime. Dragons lived to be thousands of years old, some even hundreds of thousands. There wasn't a creature in all of Equis that could outlive a dragon, except for the alicorns but even they too aged if only exceptionally slowly and would also come to pass one day. Staying in Equestria would only be for the worse in the end; there were plenty of cases of a dragon going mad and on a rampage after their patriarch or matriarch passed on. Although Sound-Off knew that even if she chose to leave her friend's and family's deaths would still follow her, she would never truly escape it.
And the little dragoness's time to make her decision was quickly running out. Within two years she will have exceeded her time in Equestria, the Pact having been fulfilled. She had already started her growth spurt, almost three-quarters of the size of a full grown stallion in comparison to the drastically undersized Spike. Day by day Sound-Off was becoming more and more of a true dragon, and life in Equestria had already become dangerous for her; the 'Bunny Incident' was proof of that. Since that day the ponies in Ponyville had never viewed her the same way again, speaking in hateful whispers of her inability to control her brutal instincts. She was no Spike the Brave and Glorious, she was Sound-Off the savage and monstrous. Of course she hadn't meant to kill all those poor defenseless bunnies, but she had just felt so hungry. It was the first time she ever ate meat.
Her cheeks began to grow wet and Sound-Off suppressed a sob. It all hurt too much to think about. Even mature as she was for her young age, she was still young and with youth came confusion and impulse. Eventually her tears did dry, and her quiet whimpers did desist. One day, she would have to make that choice; and when she did, she could only hope that she had made the right one.	

***

Cobra kissed his mare on the forehead, snuggling against her soft frame. "I love you my perfect little songbird."
"I-" She was interrupted by an adorable yawn. "Love... you... too."
The exhausted mare pressed against him, her eyelids already beginning to droop. He wrapped his forelegs around her, almost purring. Scarlet herself felt immensely relieved. She could finally put this terrible day behind her.

***
	
The shabbily cloaked figure trot up to the beautiful Romaneian-style house. A spiraling horn peeking up from the fabric revealed his unicorn origin. Nopony even knew that he had returned yet, not even his own family. He sincerely hoped it wasn't too late, not in the matter of the hour of the day but rather at this point of her life. She was everything to him, and he only wished that he had seen that sooner.
It wasn't necessarily the stallion's fault after all. More so, the blame was shared upon both him and Fleur de Lis. It had been one night, a single night. That night had changed his life forever. He never should have given her up, but Fleur couldn't keep her. What would the other royals and nobility of Prance think? So Fleur, without any warning or even a notion of her conception, had left her on his doorstep.
Once the stallion had been the talk of every town; the apple of every mares' eyes, and the envy of every other stallions'. He had been living in the high life, eating grapes from the stem and increasing his bits by the second. He had been a foal. He had been, naive. When he had first laid eyes on the little filly, he couldn't help but to feel utterly disgusted and disappointed in himself. He, had made that? At first the stallion wasn't convinced that she was his, they weren't even in the same species; as a manner of speaking. She didn't even look a thing like him, if not for the coat; but that could have easily been from her mother. But he had recognized his aunt's eyes in hers, those same kind yet furious eyes that betrayed nothing and nopony. So moved by those feelings of loathing, regret, and fear, he gave her up. He gave up his only foal.
And he had never regretted anything more. The agonizing pain of watching his filly grow from afar. Watching her suffer, unable to ease her strife, her unwillingness to give him more than a passing glance; he was left a broken pony. He had tried to forget his filly but her image haunted him daily and nightly, she- unintentionally- refused to let him sleep peacefully at night. Many times he had sought to take her back; beg for her forgiveness, make her understand. But had he the heart? No. The stallion was a coward through and through, there was no changing that. But his time away from Equestria had taught him something, it had taught him the importance of family. 
Having had his life threatened more than once while he had been away, had shaken him into a new realization. He could have died without ever having told her, he could have left this world without giving her the apology she deserved. He had stolen this innocent creature's fillyhood right out from underneath her, and for what? To keep his own reputation from risk? So he wouldn't have to be reminded of his mistake? Selfish, he had been the most selfish pony to have ever breathed. But even as he stood just outside of her reach, the fear gnawed away at him.
"Leave." It said. "Leave before it's too late. Go back home, and drink away the memories."
But it was already too late. He had waited too long. His little filly was now a full grown mare, with a foal of her own no less. He should have been there for her, for his grandfoal as well; but he was two years too late for his grandfoal's birth when he had caught word of it and far longer- too much so- for his daughter. And yet, and yet here he was. Here he was about to fall to his knees and beg for her acceptance. And if she shut him out? Demanded that he never speak to her or his grandfoal ever again? Well then, so be it. He knew he didn't deserve that bond, he knew he didn't deserve her.
The stallion miserably looked into a puddle. The murky water revealed a disheveled and an unshaven bearded face. Age certainly had caught up to him in these past two years. His golden mane had begun to grey, slowly but surely turning a shade of hornet's nest silver. His blue eyes were hollow, carved out from all emotions other than self-pity and regret. Even his blue-grey hooves hadn't had a proper hooficure in over three years. He looked away at the puddle in shame. He would be introducing himself to his daughter for the first time as a complete mess. He supposed it was only fitting.
The grizzled unicorn blinked away the tears as he stumbled over to the intercom. With a shaky hoof he pressed the call button.
"Hello?" A sleepy voice asked.
It was the beautiful and musical voice of his little filly. Gentle and velvety as a rose petal, but just as sharp and commanding as the rose's thorns.
The stallion gulped in the cold air, struggling to find his voice. A million thoughts raced through his head, jumbling together and slurring his words.
"Hel- hel- hello? I'm- I'm looking for some- somepony. I'm looking for- for my daugt- my daughter, Scarlet Thorn. I was told she- she lived here." And with that, the stallion known as Prince Vladimir Blueblood spoke his first ever words to his daughter.