Every hoof step echoed painfully into the caverns, as if they were groaning themselves, the dust rose from each hoof print, disturbed by an unholy presence. It all smelt sweet to him, anticipation in the air, the feeling of power, being able to wield another's fate like some play thing... It was like a game to Blaze, he took every step as if they were his first and last, his smirk spoke of a thousand different screams... A thousand different evils. The tunnel they travelled grew dark and cold, only allowing two ponies through at one time.

"Don't you love it?" He said with a nostalgic sigh, Savant glanced at him oddly, a heavy frown adorning his face. "Every step we take further in is... Is like... Walking into a surprise birthday party that you know about... It gets the blood boiling." He grinned.

"I wouldn't know." Savant replied grimly. "I hate birthdays."

Blaze laughed as they continued to trot through, a small flickering light at the end of the tunnel marked the entry into the honeycomb of caverns that the Bat Ponies called home. "Then my dear Savant, Happy Birthday... We'll make this one the best yet."

"And as the war raged on, the Knight looked at the Princess from afar as he galloped away from near death... He knew it would be many years before they saw each other again." Swift said with a neutral expression as he read, Night looking at the book with a sad frown.

"Wait... So they're separated for years?" She asked, lifting her head up from the table, her necklace jerking and dangling from her neck, shining in the lowly dimmed light. "That's so sad..." She mumbled gently.

Swift smirked and nodded. "Yeah... It really is." He agreed as he yawned gently. "Wow... What time is it?" He asked.

"Around noon... Why do you want to...? Oh." She said as a realization came over her once more. "Bedtime?" She asked with a giggle.

He nodded sadly and flicked the small bookmark in between the pages and shut the book. "Sadly... But hey we can hang out later!" He said enthusiastically as he was greeted by Night's sad eyes and her bottom lip. Swift sighed and shook his head. "Sorry." He said. "I have no say in this." He smiled.

"Fine... But I expect an apology gift when I see you again." She joked.

"They'll be the finest flowers for thy fair princess." He joked, imitating the knight within the story. "See you Night." Swift mumbled as he kissed her cheek softly. "I'll see you later."

"Get moving!" Midnight yelled as guards, all wearing their shining purple armor and had spears by their sides, moved tables, furniture, wooden planks to form some sort of barricade in the center of the cavern, stretching across the majority, leaving a large empty space with the entrance at the far end of the cavern.

Starlight trotted by behind Midnight, giggling gently to herself, knowing that he hadn't spotted her, a wire being stretched out across the cavern, the end in her mouth. She smiled mischievously at his back, hoping to get him to trip backwards on it. She quickly began to tie the wire around some rocks.

Hoof steps echoed gently into the caverns... A lot louder than any pony else's. The cavern slowly grew quiet to listen, heads turning to look at the entrance as several dark figures appeared at the entrance. Midnight put his helmet on and backed away, his spear armed as he clambered over the barricade.

Every guard had their spear resting on the makeshift defense, a firm hoof and shoulder behind it as they all lined it, many sharp points to it. "Steady!" Midnight called as he stood behind them, looking at the ponies which now entered, Blaze with his fiery mane, Savant, Boulder and finally the Doctor, all with their back mounted weapons. Midnight froze at the sight of Blaze, seeing his cold heartless smile. "Its children weep... As hellfire burns through mud." He mumbled to himself, Starlight’s head popping curiously over the top of the rock at the barricade and then behind her. "Oh fuck." He gasped. "Starlight!" He called as he jumped over the barricade, wings flared outward and his spear firm in his shoulder.

Blaze grinned and saw her, trotting over and taking a grip of the back of her mane and tugging heavily, a sharp yelp coming from Starlight as fear soon invaded her body. Boulder stepped closer and pulled on the rope, sending out a sea of flames in front of their group and blocking Midnights path.

He continued to charge and ducked his head as he slipped through the flames and his spear travelled straight through Blazes free fore hoof.

His grip tightened around her mane and he opened his mouth to let out a yell of pain but all that came out was a twisted moan of pleasure. "Oohhh." He cooed with a small grunt. "That felt... Good." He grinned, Midnight staring up at him in shock as Blazes magic enveloped the spear and pulled it further through his hoof, blood pouring out down his red coat and along the spear. He sighed gently as he felt Midnights hooves press against the wound.

Midnight gasped and stared at him, their noses inches away from each other. "Demon..." He growled in a mixed feeling of fear and realization.

Blaze closed his eyes and smiled. "Nope... Just Blaze." He said before snapping the spear and flinging the blunt wood back into Midnights jaw, sending him stumbling back. "Boulder!" He called with a growl, his command almost instantly followed by the hulking stallion pulling on the firing mechanism once more and sending another burst of flames at Midnight who held up his hooves, the flames enveloping his armor. With a heavy beat of his leather wings he sent himself flying backwards through the flames and tumbling out the other end.

"Ladies and Gentlecotls!" Blaze announced as he stumbled with a whimpering Starlight. "It fills my heart with joy to see so many of you here to see such a brilliant display of valor and pain!" He sang as if an announcer. He raised his bleeding hoof and hit Starlit firmly across the face with it, a loud smack and a cry of pain filled the cavern and a bloody mark was left on her cheek.

The guards all flinched at the noise, their armor clattering nervously, Midnight trotted back to the barricade, a deadly fire in his eyes as he approached some of the guards. "Get up onto those stalactites and take this fucker down." He was instantly greeted with a nod as they pulled out a set of hooks that extended from fore hooves of their armor.

"Tonight I promise a show you will never forget!" He continued with a grin, the doctor and Savant staring down at his hoof with worry as the sharp end of the spear stuck through. "I have many acts such as what’s cooking!? Who's screaming!? And my favorite Where’s the last one hiding!?" Silence soon followed his voice.

"Guards!" Midnight called from behind the barricade as he picked up a new spear. "Ay-ten-tion!" He called out with a booming drill voice, a loud collective noise of hooves picking up and stomping down with the clatter of spears crashing against armor.

"Ooh!" Blaze cooed, looking back to his companions. "Very fancy." He commented.

"Do not make use more force and remove the hoof that you use to sadly Clop yourself to sleep at night." He growled, a large laugh was heard from the guards, followed by a few cheers. "Let the girl go and I'll make sure that you can sleep easily and with all your parts with you." Midnight smirked, knowing that the noise he was creating was perfect for the set of guards to cling to stalactites, jumping from one to one quietly.

"And why would I do that?" He asked while picking Starlight up. Loud pants and quiet whimpers were heard from the small filly as she gulped and looked nervously at him. "I’ll have an adorable filly to use instead of my hoof when I pull this off!" He yelled back, the fire that was surrounding their group was slowly dying down.

Silence enveloped the guards who merely glared at him, Starlight letting out a yell of fear as Blaze put his bleeding hoof to her belly. "Because I'd love to fuck her to death." He punched heavily into her stomach, causing the filly to gasp for air and her eyes to go wide. He grunted and dropped her, her body hitting the floor with a loud thump and a long series of pants and groans came after her. "I just prefer to beat my toys before I fuck them." He made his point by kicking his good hoof into her belly again, a loud cry of pain as the filly’s tears drenched her cheeks, the sound created by the attack and the cry caused some of the guards to growl gently.

"You leave me no choice." Midnight sighed as he nodded to the three guards on the ceiling who armed their spears and lugged them towards Blaze at a surprising speed. Blaze smirked and his horn lit up, each of the three spears being caught in his magic and dropping harmlessly to the floor.

"Sometimes... I wonder why I bother." He sighed, looking at the three guards who scrambled for extra spears. Blaze turned the spears around and sent them flying back at them with equal speed, two of the guards getting hit square in the chest and flung off of the stalactites, their bodies hitting the ground heavily and pools of blood forming around in the dust. The other guard jumped at the last moment and the spear merely grazed past his armor, causing a razor sharp ring to fill the air as he glided back behind the barricade. The guard, with fear written over every feature of his face, crashed into the ground with a heavy thud, skidding across the dirt and sending up a small cloud of dust, his wings stuck as he lay there, paralyzed in fear.

“Kill them all.” He muttered to the others, staring at Starlight with an evil hunger in his eyes. Boulder was more than happy to comply, already shooting off flames at the wooden barricade, the doctor and Savant moving alongside him as they began to light up the barricade.

The tendrils of fire lashed out over the wooden cover, guards moving back to avoid it before a few lone guards charged forward and jumped over the barricade, immediately getting swarmed by fire and the pained and horrified cries echoed throughout the cavern.

The heavy doors of the library came to a close, Night trotting out with a small smile on her face. Though saddened she had to leave and have her fun cut short she was happy… She felt like nothing could ruin this day.

The piercing cries of others soon filled her ears, the yells and clattering of armor and spears… Night’s once happy smile furrowed into a heavy frown and she gulped, her heart skipping a beat as she saw two bat mares run off through the tunnels ahead of her. Night was quick to chase and she began moving through the tunnels to the source of the noise.

“What’s happening? Why are ponies running?” She thought to herself until a horrific odor passed her nose, like charred wood except… It smelt greasy, causing her to gag as she moved. “What is that smell?” She thought as she finally saw flashes of bright orange at the end of the tunnel, causing her to stop in her steps. She put a hoof to her crescent necklace and gulped. “Where’s Mum?”

The guards had been fierce in their attack, pushing the stallions back to the entrance to the cavern but their attack had always been a failure. Not a single scratch, excluding Blaze, was upon any of the stallions, a heavy line of dead and burning guards towards them, and their once purple armor becoming fused with flesh and turned a shiny grey.

Starlight was still clutched in Blazes hoof, keeping her head forward, forcing her to watch every single detail of their crime. Her cries and whimpers continued the whole way through, letting out screams of pain and terror as the smell filled her senses, the sickening stench of burning flesh and fur.

Midnight yelled out angrily, grabbing the spear of one of his many fallen comrades and charging forward. His hoof locked back and he surged it forward once more, releasing the spear straight towards Blaze. The spear flew through the air and pierced right through the hoof that was clutching Starlight. Blaze let out a howl of pain, dropping the filly to the ground he immediately began to charge back towards the guards. Boulder growled and had already aimed at her and as he pulled down on the firing mechanism and sent the flames towards the terrified filly. Midnight had already charged forward, a purple shield in hoof and a spear in the other. He moved right behind her and held it up, the flames colliding with the shining metal, causing it to begin to heat up. He yelled out in frustration, feeling the heat envelop him. With a glance behind him, he saw Starlight jump into the arms of another guard. The flames stopped and Midnight moved back, removing the shield and panting, glaring at the assailants.

Night gasped at the scene before her. Ponies laying strewn out across the cavern floor, some still alight and others lying there, their fur gone and a pink and black char remained upon all of their bodies. She gagged and felt her stomach hurl but quickly caught her composure. She galloped forward, seeing her father backing away, his shield by his side and his eyes looking at Boulder who tried shooting more flames. He had made it far enough away from Boulder for him to not be a threat and he sighed, glancing behind at Starlight, safe in the hooves of a guard who was taking her away.

Blaze had torn the spear from his hoof and he pulled it back in his unscarred hoof in preparation to throw it.

“Dad!” Night shouted out as Midnight glanced at her in a concerned confusion. The spear left Blazes hoof and as Midnight turned to face where Night was gesturing, it sunk deep into his chest, splitting the armor open and letting a splatter of blood cover the spear.

Midnight jerked and the world seemed to slow down, the searing pain in his chest causing him to collapse to his haunches. He stared at the ground in confusion, blood beginning to leak from his mouth. He panted, glancing back at Night, tears in his eyes as she stood mere metres from him.

“Run… Little troublemaker.” He panted before falling back with a heavy thud, crashing into the ground, blood pouring freely from his mouth and chest, his eyes soon falling lifeless and void.

"Dad?..."

It had to be the only disturbing flaw the hard rock caverns held, noise could travel to every inch of the once peaceful sanctuary and screams of pain and terror were no different. The Sepulcher rung with those very sounds.

Anxious hoof steps moved just as quietly, Crescent stared at the almighty doors in terror, panting nervously, an electric tension filling the caverns. "The guards can stop them.... They have to." She reassured herself, her nervous pacing clearly showing her true thoughts.

"We stand upon the precipice of doom Crescent." The elder spoke out as she trotted from within the great building. "The guards cannot stop these demons... Not anymore." Her voice croaking, merely hobbling gently towards her.

"But we cannot sit up here and wait to die!" She yelled out angrily, glaring back at the old mare.

"And I won't stand idly while my people die." She spoke calmly back, moving past her and moving towards the door.

"Where are you going? What are you going to do?!"

She stopped in her tracks and looked back with a small smile. "What is it you young ones say? I'm going to whip ass..." She said with a tired laugh, Crescent staring back sadly.

"May the moon watch over us." Crescent mumbled, bowing her head and holding her eyes shut.

"And may we find peace under its watch."

"Swift! C'mon we have to leave!" His father’s voice rung out, waking the sleeping colt who lifted his head with a grumble.

"Huh?.. What's happening?" Swift asked, sitting up and glancing over to his father who was filling a small saddlebag for Swift with his closest personal belongings. A book, small drawings and other items. "Dad?"

"Don't ask questions." He snapped back before pulling him out of bed. He pulled the colt up and put the bags around his back. "Just follow me and everything will be fine..."

"Dad you're scaring me." He whimpered, pushing away and taking a few steps back. "Where's Night? What's happening?" He asked, the high pitched screaming of a burning mare sending shivers down his spine.

Swifts father stared at him. "I... I want to run to the surface... Meet me in the fields." He said with a shaky sigh, looking back to the small house they had made out of the back offices of the library. "I'll be right behind you."

Swift gulped and nodded, a tight feeling of fear filling up within him. "Go! And don't stop for anything!" His father yelled and with that Swift bolted away as fast as he could towards the exit, the screams and shouts of those dying or running was becoming louder and louder.

"What's happening!?" He thought urgently. "Where is Everypony?" He thought as he left the library, slinking quietly and sticking to the darkness. A flash of orange lit the cave walls, a sharp gasp from him was quickly enveloped by a choked cry, the silhouette from the burning stood menacingly against the wall. Fear pumped through his veins, his purple eyes were wide with terror but soon enough the smell got to him, a greasy metallic smell which lashed out through the air, his stomach lurched and it's last contents spilled fourth across the dark ground in a yellow puddle.

"Oh god what is that smell?" He thought.

"D-Dad!" Night yelled, shaking the lifeless body, the spear protruding from his chest. "Dad no! Come on!" She cried out, tears pouring down her cheeks as she looked down at his lifeless eyes.

Hoof steps soon filled her hearing and a fiery red hoof soon placed itself atop the spear. Blaze smirked down at the small filly, flames and bodies lay from the entrance all the way to that point. "Did daddy die?" He asked in a mocking tone, ripping the spear from Midnights chest with a sickening crunch. Night was shaking heavily, her body losing all ability to move, all she could do was glare up at him, her cheeks wet with tears, her hooves spotted with the blood of her father.

Blaze pouted and wiped the flat edge of the spear along her cheek, smearing more blood across her dark coat. She closed her eyes and whimpered, tears pouring freely down her cheeks. "Don’t cry.... Spears only hurt if you get stabbed..." He whispered, tilting the blade against her cheek before pulling back slowly, digging the silver into the soft skin and splitting the skin open slowly. Night whimpered and cried out in pain but her body refused to move, the shock of everything locking her up.

Blaze finally pulled the spear away, a large cut ran along the side of her cheek, bleeding heavily and mixing with her tears. "Don't worry it won't scar... Not that it matters." He said, pressing the tip of the spear into her throat gently. "You'll be dead." He whispered gently into her ear, Night closed her eyes, her tears slowly rolling over her cheeks once more before she felt him pulling the spear back and with one firm thrust he…

"BY LUNA'S BREATH LEAVE HER ALONE!" The Elder boomed from the tunnel to the Sepulcher, the Canterlot voice bouncing through the room with a deafening roar. A bolt of magical energy struck Blaze in the chest and hurtled him back across the dirt, the fluids within the tanks sloshing around loudly as he tumbled through the dirt and skidded to a halt ten meters away. Night opened her eyes slowly and gasped slowly, looking to the fiery stallion who was slowly getting to his hooves. A quick glance behind her explained all that was happening.

The Elder was trotting out quickly, her eyes a glowing white, her horn glowing the same eerie color. Her hoof steps caused a white mist to rise from the ground around her hoof, like a cold steam rising. "Run child." She spoke softly to Night as she approached. Night did not hesitate and tripped over her own hooves in a desperate attempt to escape which was soon greeted with success and she disappeared back through the caverns.

Blaze stumbled up with a laugh, rubbing his chest gently. "Well that packed a punch."

The Elder said nothing and slowly approached, her eyes completely white.

Blaze smiled, his own horn lighting with a dull orange before he sent out a similar bolt of energy. The Elder raised her horn and a transparent white wall shimmered to life and the bolt exploded against it.

"Ahh... You know a few spells do you?" He asked mockingly.

"I know more than you can possibly know." She growled back.

Swift was careful, peering round the corners of every tunnel he trotted through, taking a longer route than normal. His usual plan was to go straight there but he always spotted ponies with large mechanical objects on them, spewing fire as they went. He could only piece together what might be happening to the colony but whatever it was it wasn't good... The smell never wore off, the stench of rotting and burning flesh fresh in his nose and he was even surprised he could keep it all down.

Frantic hoof steps caused him to stop in his tracks and cling to the wall. His eyes scanned the path ahead cautiously as the galloping got faster and faster. A flash of gold was all he needed to see and he quickly stepped forward and outstretched his hooves to catch the running filly. "Night!" He called out happily, his voice filled with relief as he grabbed onto her. She thrashed and pushed against him in terror, not hearing a thing.

"Let me go! Let me go!" She cried out, her body shaking in terror.

"Night it's me! Look!" He said forcing her to look at him, a hoof moving her head.

"S-Swift? I... I..." She couldn't even finish her sentence before breaking down once more, giving out a pained wail before burying her face into his neck and slowly falling to the ground, Swift helping her down every step of the way.

"Shhh..." He cooed gently, stroking her mane softly. Under normal circumstances he would've thought this cheesy but he went with it, holding her close to him. "It's alright..."

"It's not alright!" She yelled, hitting him out of anger for Blaze. "He killed my dad!" She shouted into him, rubbing her cheek into his neck, the blood spreading along him.

Swift felt the warmth of it and the sticky feel after and he looked to her wound. "What did they do to you?" He asked.

"My dad is dead!" She continued. "Who cares about me!?" She cried out.

"I do." He whispered gently, kissing her other cheek. "Come with me... My dad said to meet him in the fields." He said, already getting up as the sounds of magical discharges echoed through the cavern. Night slowly got to her hooves, shaking dangerously. "We're not far from the entrance." He said, looking down the tunnel cautiously before turning back to Night who immediately pressed her lips to his. Swifts eyes went wide and his heart almost leapt out of his chest. The kiss didn't last long, both of them merely holding their lips pressed together, inexperienced and completely unsure of what to do.

They soon separated, both of their cheeks a bright red, blushing through the blood, Night sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I-I'm sorry... I... I don’t know if either of us will make it..." She mumbled sadly.

Swift blinked for a few moments, getting his senses back he immediately shook his head. "We're getting out of here... I promise you that. Just keep thinking about that necklace… Never give up hope." He said before grabbing her hoof. "C'mon... This way."

Starlight had been curled up in the corner of her bed for a while now, her father quickly taking her away from the scene and hiding her and returning to the fight. The blankets covered her completely, she hugged them tight to her body for as much comfort as she possible could. Shivering with fear and whimpering, her father’s name on her lips as she gave out small cries for help.

Her room was fairly small, a small bed for her to sleep, a table and chair for her to do school work or draw, the stone walls were covered in paint, a sort of mural her father and her started, painting the fields above the caverns, the mountain, the sun... Starlight loved the surface and it was evident in her room, small trinkets lay about from above, a pine cone, shavings of grass, old leaves... But at that time she wanted nothing else than to be comforted. "Mum! Dad!?" She called out helplessly.

A thud and a clatter of armor at the door caused her to freeze and peer over her blankets to her bedroom door. "Dad?" She asked hopefully, sniffing and wiping her nose. Starlight climbed from her bed and made her way over to the door and opened it slowly, the scraping of armor coming from the other side, a light grunt caused her to raise a brow. She slowly opened the door and looked out, gasping sharply at the sight.

A white stallion with a red mane stood over a guard, a snapped spear lodged into the guard’s chest. The stallion panted heavily and looked to the door, seeing the bright set of eyes he tore the spear out and made his slow way to the door.

Starlight galloped back to her bed and pulled the covers over her head, feeling safer as she lay down, panting and whimpering quietly to herself as the hoof steps got closer. Savant stared at the shivering bed and sighed, looking down to the bloodied spear before muttering, "Fuck... This is wrong." The spear dropped to the floor with a wooden rattle. He made his way to the bed and reached a hoof out to the shaking pile. As soon as he made contact she breathed sharply in and whimpered loudly.

Savant sat on the bed and slowly removed the covers, the terrified filly staring back at him, frozen in fear. Savant sighed, looking at Starlight sadly. "Run... Please run quickly." He muttered, stepping up and backing away from the bed. "I'm not going to kill children." He thought to himself as he stood by the door, watching the filly stare at him momentarily before getting up and bolting towards the exit, whimpering and crying as she jumped over the body of the anonymous guard.

"This is so wrong."

She might as well have been wearing a hole into the stone floor of the Sepulcher, Crescent gulped as she trotted back and fourth. "Damnit!" She thought loudly in her head. "I have to do something! I can't just hide." She thought, moving towards the large doors. "I have to find Night... Midnight might have gotten her away but..." She soon stopped, doubt filling her. "She could be fine... I might endanger her but what if she's not..." Her thoughts riddling away at her moral center. "Damnit!" She yelled. "I'm coming Night." She yelled outside the doors, forcing her hooves to start trotting. "I have to find Night.' She thought. Her once white robes was creased and dirty, the tension built up within her was usually expelled by scrunching up the clothing. her hooves pressing dirt and dust from the floor into it.

She began her quick descent towards the main caverns, the sound of explosive magical charges were easily heard, and small chunks of rock fell from the ceiling. She looked up nervously, gulping. "Everything's fine... I can find Night... I can find Midnight... We can all be alright." She told herself to boost her self-confidence.

The further she went down, the worse she felt, like as if her very world was literally crumbling around her. "Maybe the Elder is right?" The screams of the many ponies she had loved and lived with her whole life caused a knot in her stomach, a feeling of dread, anger and a sense of hopelessness. Only the thought of Night kept her moving.

"C'mon! There's probably some of them hiding up here." A loud booming voice called out as Boulder climbed the steps up the Sepculer, watching the flames on the walls change into their bright purple.

"But I don't want to find them hiding." The Doctor protested. "They could get the jump on us."

Crescent had frozen and was slowly backing up the stairs, seeing the silhouettes upon the stone wall. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" She thought, quickly turning tail and beginning to run back towards the large doors of the Sepulcher.

The Doctor froze and Boulder grinned, picking up the pace and galloping up as well. "We got one!" He yelled out excitedly, the Doctor following behind nervously. He was already quickly gaining on her, Crescent looking back in terror.

"Almost got you..." He thought as he got right behind her, clipping her back hooves and causing her to trip and tumble across the stone floor of the Sepulcher, the flames dancing around the walls. Boulder grinned and quickly approached the mare who was desperately kicking at the ground to get away. "Go away!" She thought loudly, not daring to humor him...

"Hehe, not so fast now are you?" He chuckled, the Doctor peering at the bat mare, her bright eyes darting at the pair of them, her breath quick and her heart pounding. Boulder kicked her belly hard, the knot in her stomach worsening and her body tensing as she could and groaned loudly. "Fucking pest." He muttered as he grabbed her and pulled her to her hooves, hitting her hard across the face with a free hoof. He threw her down onto her belly, growling to himself, taking the large equipment off of his back. "Lift that ass up." He demanded with a sly grin.

"Boulder?" The Doctor asked in confusion.

Crescent glared at both of them, looking over her shoulder, spitting towards them. Boulder immediately punched her across the jaw, a loud crack echoing through the room. "Bitch I said ass up!" He yelled hitting her again, beating her head with his hooves. She didn't whimper or cry out like others, she wouldn't give him the pleasure of it, so she closed her eyes and took it, her head pounding so hard it felt as if something were trying to break free.

"Boulder!" The doctor yelled out as the beating continued.

Blood had begun to flow freely from her nose and mouth, her face red with her assailants force. "This is it." She thought to herself as she was struck again. She tried pushing him away but every time she rose a hoof he would hit her even harder than before.

"Just give me a moment." He grunted, moving his hoof down and hitting her in the gut. She lurched and coughed heavily, gasping for air and spraying blood all onto Boulders face. He stumbled back before wiping it off angrily and moving back with a renewed rage. "Bitch!"

He couldn’t take it any longer, the Doctor moved forward and took Boulders blade as he stumbled back and made it to Crescent before Boulder could, leaning over the panting and bleeding mare. "I'm so sorry." He muttered before pressing the blade into her throat and slicing across, opening a large wound in her throat, blood pouring freely from it.

She coughed and gagged as blood soon began to fill her lungs. She looked up at the Doctor, writhing slightly for air as he got up and away from her. "Night..." She thought softly, the name hurting to even think about. "I'm so sorry..."

The cavern was getting bigger after every deflected blast of magic, the two unicorns circling each other and throwing arcane magic towards one another. Piles of fallen rock lay about them and anypony able to, had run away or finished dying. Blaze was sweating, the exhaustion getting to him quickly. The Elder however wasn't breaking a sweat, throwing multitudes of stones, spears and magic at Blaze. Every spear was destroyed with walls of magical fire, every rock crashed with one of Blazes own magic or projectiles, throwing bodies around as an extra insult to the Elder.

Rage was something Blaze exploited, rage and anger made on stupid, reckless and often careless. The Elder was full of it, Blaze was merely keeping her occupied.

"C'mon, it's right through here." Swift said to Night as they entered the cavern, both of them stopping in their tracks as they saw the ensuing battle, magic flying back and forth and crashing loudly against the walls, chunks easily falling from it. The exit to the cavern was merely at the other side of the fight. "Quick!" Swift said as he pulled the whimpering filly along, both keeping as hidden as the cavern allowed, jumping over rocks and ducking down to keep low. Midnights body still lay where he fell, the spear still protruding from his chest, a blood pool already formed around it. Night gave a whimper and averted her gaze, her eyes watering as she clenched them shut, trying to remove the ghastly image.

"Getting tired!?" Blaze asked with a snort, dodging another bolt of energy before sending the body of an armored guard her way. The Elder caught the body in her magical grasp and lay it down respectfully while throwing another objects towards him, growling loudly. Blaze saw the fillies out the corner of his eye and smiled. "Perfect." He thought as he kept up his defense.

They had made it far around the two and were directly behind Blaze, mere meters from the psychopath. "This way..." He whispered, getting up and trotting quickly towards the cavern exit. The Elder made another heavy blast of energy towards Blaze who cleverly stepped to the side, the warmth of it ran past his face before it continued, striking Swift straight in the core. His body was flung straight into the stone wall next to him, the air quickly leaving his body and his head smacking hard against the stone before collapsing to the ground, lifeless and still.

"Swift!" Night cried out, immediately collapsing over him and turning him over to see if he was alright.

The Elder froze, the magical energy faltering for a moment and her eyes returning to their normal hue as she saw the colt collapse. "Oh no..." She whispered and a mere moment after she was struck with a bolt of energy from Blaze, causing her to stumble, a rock smashing into her body full force sent her tumbling down.

Blaze smirked at his victory and slowly trotted towards the old mare who painfully tried forcing her way back onto her hooves. "Funny how things turn out." He said, a spear levitating in his magical grasp before being thrust straight into her side. Her breath escaped her and her eyes went wide as Blaze delivered that last blow, her heart thudding it's last few times before she fell limp herself... One of the last known Bat unicorns, one of the last Elders... Dead.

"Swift...? Swift!" Night yelled, looking over his bleeding forehead and still body. "Oh no, Oh no!" She thought.

"Fuck..." Blaze muttered, looking back at Night. "There's always one more of you lurking somewhere." He sighed, pulling the spear from the Elders corpse. "Now I'm going to finish the job." He said, trotting over to Night briskly, who merely hugged her friend. He raised the spear in the same fashion as the Elder, the blade dripping with her blood.

"Blaze!" Savant yelled, trotting in angrily. "You forget why you hired me!" He said. Blaze sighed and threw down the spear. "Really... We're discussing the terms of your contract now?" He asked.

Savant nodded and trotted up to them, looking down at Night, the guilt already rising as those fearful and teary eyes stared back at him. "Yes... You've killed all the chances of information except her...“ He said, gesturing down to Night. “This time I handle it."

Blaze grumbled and looked down at the filly. "Fine.... Take the bitch with us... She better be damned useful."

"W-what?" Night asked, immediately being greeted with Blazes hoof across her bleeding cheek, a loud slap followed by a whimper echoed through the cavern.

"Fuck if it talks the whole time then I'll kill her and still be happy."

"I'll make sure of it." Savant mumbled through gritted teeth, letting Blaze trot away from them.

"In the meantime... Let's start a fire!"

“F-Fire?” Night asked, a sense of regret and dread soon filling her as she saw Blaze sigh.

“Boulder… Shut her up.” He mumbled, Boulder grinned and trotted over eagerly.

“Sure thing boss.” He said before gripping her head with a hoof, a whimper escaping her lips.

“Boulder wait!” Savant called out. But Boulder was far too eager and forced her head back into the stone wall with a loud crack, the filly soon falling silent and limp, collapsing onto the floor with a dusty thud, blood slowly sticking to her purple mane.

“Now! Let’s get to business.”

It took the group a small amount of time to dump their fuel canisters within the cavern, making sure to spread it around. Night remained with Swift, stroking his mane and holding his limp body tight as she quietly cried into it, Savant glancing over painfully as they worked.

"We had better get moving." The Doctor suggested as he dropped his fuel and made his way to the entrance, Blaze following behind. "Ponies will come to see what happened."

"Then we better make sure this place burns well." Blaze said, smelling the air once more before tapping Savant. "Go get your pet... We're leaving." He said, trotting out of the caves, spilling oil behind him as he went. Savant sighed and trotted up to Night’s limp body, leaning down and slowly scooping her up before slowly placing on his back, the cool steel of her Crescent necklace brushing past his neck. "I am a horrible pony.” He thought.

It didn’t take him long to trot out the oil slickened cavern, the smell causing him to wheeze gently, the greeting he got from Blaze made his stomach flip in disgust.

"There he is!" Blaze said happily. "The stallion who actually remembers what we were doing..." He said sarcastically before looking to the others. "If you'll do the honors doc." Blaze said, looking to the stallion with a small flaming torch in hoof. He slowly lowered it to the oil trail from within the cavern which lit up quickly, slowly travelling and making its way to the entrance, the crackle of fire already a more prominent sound than the world around them.

"Won't be long until Somepony sees the smoke..." Blaze said, a subliminal order to get moving. The group began their slow march, all in a line, Savant and Night at the back.

The fields soon lit up and the flames travelled into the cave, burning everything inside slowly, and smoke began to pour out of the snowy mountain base.

The largest colony of the bat ponies was burning, all of its inhabitants dead and on the road to oblivion. Only one phrase hung in the burning hot air as a whole culture was wiped from existence.

“May the moon watch over us.”

Author's Note

Apologies for the extended leave from writing and a Happy New Year! What a great chapter to start it off don't you think?

I hope I got the effect I wanted with the few deaths that occurred and I do sincerely hope someone at least shed a small tear.

However if you are outraged and hate me for what I have done then at least stay for one more chapter after this, if you don't it's like being that guy who leaves the party because the host didn't put your song on.... And no one likes that guy/girl.