Blood Moon Rising

Chapters

Prologue: Welcome to Terraria
Chapter 1: The Manor
Chapter 2: Full Moon

Prologue: Welcome to Terraria

“Y’all sure we went the right way?” Applejack nudged their bodyguard slightly.

“Yes. The map clearly stated to turn right at the red mountain.” The white stallion pointed at the map, clearly frustrated by their current whereabouts.

“That map is over two centuries old. Maybe it’s a little too faded?” The newly appointed Princess of Friendship suggested to her escort, who just groaned. When Sheathed Blade had been told he would be the bodyguard the Twilight Sparkle and her friends on a mission to a faraway land, he expected a little more excitement. Not getting lost in the wilderness while odd blobs of jelly bounced around.

“Or it could have been where that big ol’ hole was ‘bout two hours south of here.” The orange earth pony reached over the stallion’s shoulder and tapped the map with her hoof.

“Didn’t they teach you about personal space back in the country, Dorothy?” The pegasus guardspony pushed Applejack’s hoof out of his sight, ignoring the confused look the southern belle gave him. He didn’t enjoy being lost in the wilderness, and he definitely didn’t enjoy having a group of mares giving him advice on how to read a map.

“Who’s this Dorothy? Not a special mare back home now, is she?” a white unicorn appeared next to the stallion, coquettishly wrapping a hoof around his own. The guard blushed furiously.

“Does it really matter?” a cyan mare yawned, slightly hovering above her friends. “All I care about is the fact that this bozo can’t read a map to save his life!”

“Gah!” he finally roared. “I’ve been stuck in the middle of nowhere with you for four hours, now please give me some peace and quiet while I figure out where in the world we are!”

“Hey, chill out buddy,” Sheathed’s brother in arms Low Rider nudged him. “Do you really think Celestia will be happy to hear that you snapped at her protege and her friends?” The other pony silently agreed, taking in a deep breath to calm himself down. “Exactly.”

“Um... I would like it if we didn’t stay here much longer. I think we’re in a place where I take the critters when they... get a little too old.” A yellow pegasus spoke softly without a whisper, barely heard among the commotion of her friends.

The group entered the musty graveyard an hour ago, believing civilization wouldn’t be too far ahead, but they had no such luck yet. All they saw were massive trees, rusty fences, and grave markers of various shapes and sizes dotting the rolling hills. While the guards should have been thankful that those dangerous jellies weren’t attacking them any more, they honestly wished for a little more action.

“I know! This graveyard is totally creepy! Like, something you’d find in the poetry section of Twilight’s library!” A pink earth pony chirped, bouncing next to her friends. “Ooooh!” She continued as they walked along the path. “What if there are zombies in here? Or skeletons? Or skeleton zombies? Or a big stone monster with a top hat like the one behind Fluttershy!” She pointed at a top hat lying next to a grave simply marked The Groom.

Twilight rolled her eyes as they passed by a massive black obelisk. “Pinkie, I really doubt that any stone monsters would have a top hat. Why would they even wear a top hat?”

Pinkie shrugged nonchalantly. “I dunno, ask that one!” she pointed behind Fluttershy.

Fluttershy squeaked and jumped into the air upon noticing the looming statue of a figure wearing a black cloak with a pickaxe in his hand. Characteristically, the Pegasus forgot she owned a pair of wings, and began a quick descent back to earth. She instead fell into the hooves of an attentive low rider.

“Whoa there, Miss. Can’t be jumping at shadows now, can we?” The pegasus shield brother pointed an outstretched wing to the statue. “Though, I honestly can’t complain if that means I can catch you each time.” Low Rider flashed a smile at the yellow pegasus, who tried her best to hide behind a mane of pink hair. He gently set her where she immediately ran to the side of Rainbow Dash, who was ‘busy’ laying on top of a statue of a pillar.

The blue pegasus with a prismatic mane giggled at the sight, much to the further embarrassment of the yellow pegasus. “Looks like sompony has a crush.” The mirth was short lived for Rainbow as her stomach began to growl. “Ugh... I’m starving. When are those two pilots going to get back with something to eat?”

“Well I’m just suggesting we send a letter to the princess asking directions.” Twilight raised her hoof in the air, ignoring the pegasus and causing Rainbow Dash to groan even more.

Before she began to give her snarky reply, she bumped headfirst into a statue of a skeleton. She hit the ground lightly, rubbing her head. As Fluttershy trotted over to pick her up, the ground rumbled.

Bony fingers reached from the ground, grasping at the dirt. Arms soon rose after, and vaguely humanoid skeletons pulled themselves out of the ground with a groan, dirt and loose flesh raining off their forms like a dry rain.

“Uh, Twilight?” Rarity tapped her friend’s shoulder, who was currently surveying the graveyard.

“Not now, Rarity,” Twilight offhandedly responded, still engrossed in finding a landmark of some sort.

“Twilight!” Rarity slapped her friend upside the head, who quickly turned around and saw the skeletons scrambling out of the grave, arms outstretched for an unaware Fluttershy who was tending to Rainbow’s head wound. Dash was staring right at the skeletons, but appeared to be too paralyzed by fear to move.

“Oooh!” Twilight seemed engrossed in the beasts for a second. “Those appear to be skeletal remains of the genus homosapien! Is it possible that Equestria has some humans too? Oh! What kind of magic do you think they have that causes them to walk even in death? Is--” She was interrupted by Rarity slapping her a second time across the muzzle.

Twilight took the hint and shot a beam of magic at one of the skeletons who was reaching or Rainbow’s leg. The bony creature’s head burst into skull fragments, alerting the others of their presence. The group all turned to the monsters, now aware of the four other skeletons bursting from the ground.

“AHHHHHH!” Dash finally screamed, backpedaling into the statue again. There was another rumble and five more skeletons suddenly burst from the ground.

Fluttershy was equally spooked, and fell off of her hooves against the statue again. There was yet another rumble, and even more human skeletons arose. Dash and Fluttershy finally got to their hooves, with Rainbow’s raised. Prepared for combat. Before she could throw a punch, Twilight telekinetically jerked the two pegasi back while Sheathed Sword jumped between the skeletons and the two mares.

The nine skeletons were all unique looking, each of them fearsome in their own way. One of them appeared to have a rusty sword stuck through his head, but it still managed to walk around. Another was in a position Dash could identify as a karate stance, with a black bandana wrapped around his head. However, the scariest of them all had a giant blue set of armor draped on his back, with a massive iron mace in his hand.

“What in Celestia’s sun-drenched mane do you think you’re doing!?” He roared as the group began to back away. “Run!”

They didn’t need to be told twice.

They galloped as fast as they could away from the skeletal monsters who fiercely gave chase. Just as they thought that as long as they could run they would be safe, an arrow trailing crimson fire stuck itself in the soft dirt where Fluttershy’s hoof was just moments before.

“They got archers!” Low Rider screamed, curling in the air as more hellfire flew past him. The young pegasus flew low, grasping an unarmed skeleton by the arm before raising it high into the air. A single dive bomb brought the skeleton crashing into an archer after Low Rider let go.

“No duh!” Rainbow Dash retorted, rolling away from an arrow poised for her head. However, the moment she realized it was a trap, it was too late. She had rolled directly in the way of a tree. With a crash, she fell to the ground and another arrow flew at her chest. She closed her eyes and waited for the weapon to pierce her chest.

The pain never came.

The arrow was held in the air in an aura of blue magic, before being telekinetically snapped in half. Dash scrambled back to her hooves and took flight again as Rarity let the arrow halves drop. “Thanks, Rare! I owe ya!”

“Don’t mention it, Darling!” She responded before continuing to flee from the monsters. A bony hand erupted from the ground ahead of the unicorn, grasping at her hoof and pulling her down, face chewing the dirt. A stark yellow came from the ground, a helmet with a broken light on the front adorned by a skull with piercing red glowing eyes.

Before it could take a massive bite out of the fashionista’s flank, a powerful orange hoof stomped on the skeletal miner, The metal helmet cracked in half, and the skull inside collapsed. Applejack took another moment to snap the lifeless limb gripping Rarity in half before pushing the unicorn ahead of her. “Git goin’!” shouted the earth pony after her, bringing up the rear of the group.

“You aren’t half bad, Dorothy!” Sheathed Sword commented as he ran alongside her charge.

“Hey! What about the coach?” shouted Twilight from the skies, pointing behind them at the general location of a half gilded coach which was lost behind a mass of grey stones and statues. Her pilots had been told to stay behind in case of an emergency evacuation, but it ironically appeared that they would no longer be available to provide the service.

“No time!” Low Rider barked, flying next to the Princess. He had given a vow to serve the royalty of Equestria, and he wasn’t going to be the first one in centuries to return home with the blood of a monarch on his hooves. Twilight screamed as a deafening bang erupted behind them, a red line appeared across the alicorn’s back and blood began to stream from the wound.

“DOWN!” Rainbow Dash yelled, tackling Twilight to the ground as a second bang erupted. Low Rider spun around to face the foe, who seemed to be wearing a baggy camouflage outfit. Before he could charge the skeleton, his comrade telekinetically yanked him to the ground. The third shot missed by a wide margin, and Low Rider silently thanked his partner.

Blood was freely trickling down Twilight’s left hind leg and a good section of her flank, making it painful to run. Dash tossed her at Applejack, who slung her over her back. Nopony had any idea what that skeleton was holding, but they knew it was bad news.

They continued to gallop like the very bowels of Tartarus were at their heels, but the situation just seemed to get bleaker and bleaker. While they did leave the gates of the graveyard, the deep forest ahead only made escape more difficult. It wasn’t long until the skeletal sniper aimed his sights on Fluttershy, hovering his bony finger over the trigger.

Bouncy mane.

Itchy knee.

Aching right nostril.

Pinkie Pie knew what that meant. Fluttershy was about to get hurt.

“Fluttershy!” The party pony screamed, diving at her friend. Another shot rang out, this time barely hitting the tip of Pinkie’s right ear. She wordlessly picked Fluttershy back up to her legs and continued the sprint.

The group made a sharp right turn at a massive tree, and came face to face with…

A sheer cliff.

“No!” Sheathed Sword screamed, leading the group into a small cavern before turning around to make a stand. “Dead end!” He motioned for the council of Friendship to take cover behind their guards.

“You stay back… We’ll deal with them!” Low Rider’s voice slightly quivered. While the majority of the council complied, Applejack and Rainbow Dash nervously joined the guards on their grand last stand. They jumped momentarily when Twilight nudged herself in between the two friends, firmly planting her hooves in the ground. Soon after, the entire group took their positions in the front lines.

“Your majesty, you can’t-” Sheathed Sword started

“Shut up,” She replied, horn glowing an angry violet as she brought her magic to bear.

As the seven skeletons turned the corner, another gunshot rang out. Twilight flinched and Fluttershy hid her head under the hooves of Pinkie Pie. However, nopony was harmed by the result. Instead, a skeleton’s ribcage exploded into dust. Then another shot. And another. Before the ranged skeletons could attack, they all lay dead. The skeleton’s focus shifted up to the top of the cliff, before a cavalcade of shots.

The remaining skeletons tried to run away, but a small silver object bounced up to their feet and promptly exploded, sending bone fragments and dirt everywhere. When the ponies were sure that the skeletons were no longer a threat, they stepped out of the tiny indentation, and saw a strange looking human in a duster holding a green object in his hands.

“Hello,” He smiled, lowering his weapon. “Welcome to our fair land of Terraria.”

BLOOD MOON RISING

Chapter 1: The Manor

The moon had become an iconic symbol in Equestria since Luna’s return. No longer was it a solemn reminder of Nightmare Moon’s actions, it was instead a reminder that Princess Luna cared for her subjects just like her sister. Some would say it was even comforting.

Luna took no comfort in the pain she felt in her very being that afternoon. It was excruciating, and more than enough to keep her moaning in agony for the day. Celestia had the best doctors in the kingdom examine at her, but they couldn’t find what was causing the pain in her body, nor the burning fever that dwelled within her head. While they couldn’t think of a definite diagnosis, Luna had her own theories.

“Tia,” She choked out, her muscles tense in pain. “The moon… it doth… I...” She screamed in agony again as another wave of pain swept over her body. Celestia cradled her sister’s head within her hooves, hoping to comfort her during the pain. “It…” She grit her teeth. “The moon is impure. It’s eating away at my very soul.” Her eyes widened. “It must not be raised tonight, as I fear for what magic could corrupt it’s very essence, and what it could mean for-” The princess drew a deep breath in the sharp pain that erupted from her head. Finding little strength in keeping the battle with consciousness, the steward of the night fell into a troubled slumber neath her sister’s hooves.

Celestia found herself both worried and relieved to see her sister finally rest, but unsure of the meaning behind her outburst. Celestia could feel no wrong from the moon, but it had always been her sister that shared a special connection that she could not fathom.

She considered her sister’s warning, and spoke to her guards. “Send word across the land at once! The moon will not raise over Equus until further notice.”

The sister of the sun brought her magic to bear in order to gauge for herself the moon’s due course, but found that the once familiar connection had all but been severed. The common threads simply did not exist anymore. She assumed that when Luna had returned to Equestria, the power had been returned to Luna.

What other explanation could there be?

“Where could they be?” Twilight inspected the overturned carriage, which had distinct claw markings on the side. Rainbow Dash was prodding a dislodged jaw that remained curiously embedded in one of the harnesses.

“No idea,” the man shrugged his shoulders, his hands buried within the pockets of his duster. After their timely rescue by the odd human he introduced himself as Darius, and made sure that the ponies knew he meant no harm. Despite their originally apprehensive attitude towards, as Twilight called them, post mortem homo sapiens (Or as he preferred to be called, human), he managed to get enough information out of them to know that they were going to need his help. And that he wasn’t about to treat them with the same respect he treated the undead.

“So,” Rainbow Dash trotted over to the dark skinned man and poked his shoulder. “What did you say those things you used were again?”

“Guns,” He replied, slightly irked by her constant prodding. She opened her mouth again, but he cut her off. “And no, you still can’t have one.”

“Aw, come on!” Dash bellyached, annoyed by her continuously failed attempts to acquire one of his guns. “Please?”

“No,” He coldly replied. “You’ll shoot your eye out.”

He had proven himself to be extremely efficient with these guns of his, and although Twilight didn’t know how the finer mechanics of the weapons worked, she had a basic idea. Pull trigger, ignite miniscule incendiary charge, small, destructive projectile launched out.

Twilight and Pinkie’s injuries were treated by flasks of a red liquid Darius gave them. While it tasted rather bitter, Twilight was surprised when she saw her flesh reappear and Pinkie’s ear seemingly build itself back together.

“Aw, I was already thinking of the many earrings I could borrow from Rarity now that I had my ear pierced! Oh well!” Pinkie optimistically added, earning an odd glance from Darius.

“Is she always--” Darius began.

“Yeah.” Chimed in three of the friends in practised unison.

“Nevertheless, I doubt now is a time for planning accessories. Where did our two dashing stallions fly off to at the moment of our greatest need?” Cooed Rarity, searching the skies and around the carriage for any sign of their pegasi escorts.

“Don’t think they flew off, Miss,” Darius quickly replied, earning horrified glances from the eight equines. “Look here down next to the harness.” Darius points to the dirt which, to most of the ponies, looked just like normal dirt. “Drag marks around here, these straight lines?” The gunslinger then pointed to the mangled harnesses.“and from the look of these bites, I’d say that an Antlion got ‘em. Dragged them under the sand, probably chewed them into tiny pieces.”

Sheathed found himself staring at the drag marks in the dirt. “One... one of them was going to be my brother in law. He was marrying my sister in a month...”

“And we best be going before we meet our own final rest in this graveyard.” The man cut in, not giving time for contemplation. “Even if you don’t understand the dangers of this place, I don’t see much sense in stoppin’ at a grave unless you have kin here.”

“We didn’t exactly mean to end up here. We was tryin’ to follow this map here, and-” Applejack pulled out the tattered parchment from Sheathed’s saddleback and tried to hand it to Darius.

He didn’t even glance at the paper, only scanning the ground around him. “That map is no good.”

“Well, maybe one of these stallion’s was readin’ it wrong?” AJ said, ignoring a disgruntled cough from Sheathed Sword.

“He wasn’t reading it wrong.” Darius replied, crumpling up the paper and throwing it to the ground.

“Now how in the name of auntie Honeycrisp could you know that?” AJ raised an eyebrow.

“The landscape changes around here. Might as well try and chart a desert. Now, are we going to move or will we keep chatting enough to wake the dead again?” The equines looked at each other in an uncomfortable silence before following the strange man.

“Lead the way, gunslinger man!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“Not a gunslinger, lady,” He absent mindedly walked down the road. “Jus’ an Arms Dealer.”

The dark wooden walls of the mansion were nestled between the treetops that reminded Fluttershy of home. The graveled road which the ponies tread lead up to a cobblestone walkway that Rarity would offhoofedly call ‘quaint’. Though the place was built upon a strong foundation, there could be no mistaking the age of the building upon seeing the countless vines and sagging stained glass which permeated the walls.

A statue of a winged human stood guard in front of the doors, seemingly watching over the group. Rainbow Dash nudged Applejack mid-stride. “Hey, what do you suppose they call a winged human? You don’t think it’s humanus or something like that, do you?” she whispered, trying not to let Darius hear.

“I believe they’re angels.” Twilight, who couldn’t help but hear their question, answered for them. “I read in a book over at Canterlot High that they’re supposed to be some sort of form humans take after death, if they follow friendship well enough.”

“Ooooooh.” The earth and pegasus ponies responded in unison.

“I still don’t rightly get it.” AJ shrugged to the friend next to her. Before Twilight could get in a rebuke, she was interrupted by Pinkie Pie.

“What does this one do?” The party planner asked, pointing at the cracked statue.

“It doesn’t do anything,” Darius grumbled, glaring at the statue.

“Nothing at all?” Twilight asked for confirmation.

“Nothing at all,” He confirmed with a tired sigh.

The grand front doors of the mansion swung open, revealing a lavishly furnished entry hall. All sorts of odd banners were hung on the wall, and suits of odd armors were lined on both sides. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash felt a little uneasy when walking under the armor, having unpleasant memories of a place much like this one. Applejack herself seemed captivated by a purple suit of armor that seemed to be worn from battle. Dried blood leaked out of the helmet’s visor, and it seemed like there were claw marks running down the middle.

Before she could ask Darius about the suit, another human walked downstairs and promptly screamed.

“DARIUS!” A shrill voice yelled out, causing the nine to jump. “You let a unicorn in here?” the group looked at the stairs to find a female with blonde hair slowly backing up the stairs. “Why don’t you just… Kill them!” The ponies flinched and instinctively got into a fighting position.

“Easy there,” Darius raised his hands in the air, motioning for both the woman in white and the ponies to calm down. “These here horses--”

“Ponies, actually,” Twilight helpfully interrupted.

“These here ponies aren’t like the other unicorn’s out there. They seem pretty peaceful; ain’t skewered me just yet, as you can see.” Rarity flinched at the mental image Darius created with his reply.

“Wait…” Sheathed Sword raised his hoof in the air. “Are you saying… There are other unicorns here in Terraria?”

“And they skewer?” Rarity added.

“Yeah. Want to see the scar?” Darius offered, pulling at the hem of his jacket.

“No thanks,” Twilight blurted out.

“Heavens no,” Rarity lurched her head backwards at the very thought.

“I’ll pass,” Rainbow Dash held a hoof over her eyes.

“Nope!” Pinkie Pie quickly asserted.

“Ah don’t think ah do,” Applejack’s cheeks became tinted green.

“Not at all,” Both bodyguards replied in unison.

Fluttershy only whimpered.

Darius nodded. “Thought so,”

“Granted, I’ve never seen a unicorn talk before making a big hole in someone’s chest. The last unicorn injury I had to patch up gave my fingers a cramp. The dumb bastard wouldn’t sit still.” The nurse stared accusingly at Darius.

“Give me a break, Helen, I was sober!” Darius countered

“Wait,” Twilight ignored the protests of Darius. “Unicorns here don’t talk?”

“Honestly don’t stick around long enough to find out. They kinda look like your marshmallow friend here, but with hellish eyes that stare into your soul.” The gunslinger pointed to Rarity’s eyes. “Once they catch wind of you... well. Few things make a man regret his past like the charge of a unicorn, horn first.”

“Well,” Rarity spoke up, clearly uncomfortable with the discussion at hand. “You don’t need to worry about us. We wouldn’t harm you even if our lives depended on it.”

Twilight touched her own with a wince. “Honestly never thought this could be used that way.”

“I don’t know ‘bout y’all, but I’d like to change the subject here.” Applejack interrupted before pulling on Darius’ sleeve. “Y’all got any grub around here? Ah’m a might peckish.”

“Well if you’re not here to kill us, then we might as well feed you. Come on upstairs, we were just putting something together from what we had stored. Someone was meant to go out and hunt for something, but he found better things to do.” The nurse turned up the stairs, beckoning for the ponies to follow her.

“Dammit woman.” Darius muttered under his breath, following behind the parade of pastel ponies.

“Is… Uh, is this what I think it is?” Fluttershy meekly tapped a large dish with a brownish food sitting on top of it.

“Hm?” Helen looked up from her rabbit, noticing the disgusted expressions across the table. “Oh. Right. Vegetarians and all that.”

Applejack slowly chewed the bite she took just seconds before, contemplating the gravity of her actions. She had a feeling her stomach wouldn’t agree with her the next morning.

“Vegetarians? Who in the wor--” A new voice seemed to appear out of thin air behind the table. The ten turned around to find a burly man with a wispy white beard propped up against a nearby door frame. “Darius… Are those unicorns?”

“Hey, don’t worry Beldin,” Darius motioned to his guests. “They don’t attack virgins, so you should be good.” The eight equines either blushed or looked for the most interesting speck to stare at on the nearest wall.

“Riiiight,” Beldin rolled his eyes before focusing back to his gun-wielding rival. “So did you bring our company in to help with the moon or--” He was silenced by an icy stare from Darius.

“Could y’all point me the way to the kitchen?” the southern pony interjected, and quickly moved after Beldin pointed a thumb behind him. He still looked perplexed, even more so after AJ gave a quick ‘thank ya kindly’ before passing his way.

Beldin sat next to Fluttershy, eyeing her plate. “Hey, are you going to eat that?”

“N-No, I couldn’t bring myself to ever eat a poor bunny like--”

“Alright, more fer’ the rest of us!” cried a happy Beldin, forcibly skewering the remains of Fluttershy’s plate with a fork and bringing it to his own. The yellow pegasus’ face began to turn an unsettling shade of green before she quickly excused herself and ran after Applejack.

“Beldin!” Helen began to scold the odd man, but Darius shook his head at her. She knew the signal. “So…” Helen trailed off, gaining the ponies attention. “I would love to show you the rest of the mansion, would you like to take a tour?” The six remaining ponies nodded enthusiastically as Helen lead them out of the dining hall.

As soon as Darius was sure he was alone with Beldin, he got down to business. “To answer your question… Yes. More hands on deck during a blood moon can’t hurt.” He instinctively patted his holster. “Especially in one that’s going to be as hectic as this.”

“You sure this is a good idea?” Beldin raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you at least let them know what’s going to happen?”

Darius shook his head.”We can’t risk them trying to leave already. Two of them appear to be soldiers, and that purple one seems pretty smart. They were even holding their own against a near dozen of the drybones back at the site. The more of them we have when the moon rises, the more likely it is that we will live to see tomorrow.”

Darius tilted back on his chair while rubbing the back of his neck. “And I’d hate to ruin their meal any more than we have already. Could be our last, after all.”

Beldin sighed, swallowing another bite of rabbit. “Whatever you say, Darius. I just think this is a really bad idea.”

He inched closer to Beldin, his green eyes wide. “You wouldn’t believe how tough some of the beasts I fought today were. Something tells me that this moon is going to be the strongest yet.”

“Like when the Groom and--” Beldin was silenced by Darius’ hand. Wordlessly, he motioned behind him at the approaching orange pony. Beldin nodded as he heard the rhythm of hoofsteps.

“Hey, where did everypony go?” Applejack walked in the dining room, balancing an impressive amount of dishes on two platters with filled plates of baked goods and salads. One in a hoof, the other on her forehead.

“Everypony?” Beldin was ignored.

“They went up with Helen to take a tour of the place. Might be back in a minute.” Darius said as he stood up to help the mare. AJ wordlessly thanked him as he took the platter from her head and set it on the table.

“Well,” the arms dealer slammed his hands down on the table. “I got some business to attend to, so if you don’t mind…” He shot a glare at Beldin. “I’ll be off,”

Applejack’s curious eyes followed the arms dealer as he exited the dining room before her eyes met Beldin’s own. The two’s eyes met for a moment before they broke the silence.

“Nice hat.” They said in unison, followed by a near perfect ‘thanks’ as a reply. Both chuckled awkwardly for a moment, but Beldin simply returned to his meal. Applejack eyed her own before realizing she wasn’t so hungry anymore.

“So... Ah reckon you’re some kind of miner?” Drawled the southern belle, pointing a hoof at Beldin’s hard hat with a flashlight on the brim.

“Demolitionist,” He pulled a long red cylinder that Applejack could instantly identify as TNT out of his back pocket. “Love to see things go boom, y’know? The little bloody chunks flying through the air, those sounds…” He wistfully shut his eyes. “‘s a thing of beauty, wouldn’t you agree?” He turned to the apple farmer, who currently had her jaw slack and her brow furrowed.

“Ah... Ah probably wouldn’t quite think of it that way.” Applejack replied after pushing her jaw back in place. Fluttershy re-entered the room.

“Oh c’mon!” He put his hands up for extra effect. “You have no idea how fun it is to go Bunny Boomin’.” Applejack quickly put a hoof to her throat in a silencing motion to Beldin as he spoke, but the damage had been done.

“Bunny… Booming?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Yeah!” Beldin ignored Applejack’s motion and continued through a mouth full of rabbit. “Go and find a bunny, catch the lil’ bastard, strap dynamite to it, and throw it at some slimes. Y’know, a nice way to keep your hands attached and still collect that gel!”

Fluttershy left the room again.

AJ scowled at the strange man. He didn’t seem to be as kind and well meaning as she had originally thought.

“So, I take you as a... waitress?” the demolitionist inquired.

“Not exact-” Applejack began through gritted teeth.”

“Ha!” Rainbow Dash bellowed as she and her friends returned to the room. “Yeah, wouldn’t that be something AJ?” She playfully patted her friend on the back. “Imagine yourself, all dressed up in some stupid frilly outfit!”

“Like the one you had on when Rarity was zappin’ everythin’?” AJ retorted, causing Dash’s face to redden.

“Hey, you and I both know that was Rarity’s fault!” She barked, motioning at their fashionista friend.

“Actually,” Rarity piped up. “I believe that a book was to blame for that little incident, right Applejack?”

AJ nodded. “Ah reckon so.” Dash sighed, slouching into her chair as Rarity and Applejack giggled.

“But regardless, I think Rainbow is right. You’d simply look marvelous in a starched white shirt and a fitting black vest, wouldn’t you think?” Applejack grumbled, thinking of a retort.

“So,” Beldin eyed the white and orange ponies. “Can you cut the tension and just kiss already?”

Dead silence followed by even deadlier stares.

Beldin simply shrugged as the guards and nurse returned. “Jus’ saying.”

The flickering lamp was the only illumination that Darius’ underground vault contained, and it was the only one he needed. As he swung open the door of his safe, he cracked a smile. While he knew for a fact that the danger that lurked after sundown could jeopardize his very life, he was more than a bit excited to use his full arsenal.

The massive vault was cluttered with guns of all sorts, from a massive sniper rifle to a gatling gun shaped like a shark. He reached through the clutter for a second before pulling out a black T-shaped gun that could fit in his hand. In a swift motion, he slid a scope that he salvaged off of the skeletal sniper on top of the slide.

He quickly holstered the gun into his coat, before fishing around for his next target. He pulled out a large red gun with one hand, and a fistfull of what appeared to be its ammunition in the other. He gently slipped the flares into large loops on his belt before adding the flare gun to his holster as well.

He closed the door to the vault, but his favorite weapon of all was yet to join his inventory. His eyes wandered to the stone walls of his bunker, where a large double-barreled shotgun was mounted. Underneath the item was a gold plated plaque that simply read BOOMSTICK.

The arms dealer just grinned as he pulled the boomstick down and into his coat.

Fully equipped, he took the stone stairwell out of his bunker and into the front yard of the mansion. To his horror, there appeared to be a flock of bunnies pounding at the door. He knew that they were waiting for the moon to rise, and wasn’t about to let them walk free.

In a swift motion, he pulled his uzi out of his coat and fired upon the crowd of bunnies. Chunks of rabbit went flying as the high velocity bullets tore their very skin in half. Gunshots could be heard across the forest as the bunnies were gunned down, along with their piercing death cries.

While most of the flock was downed in one spray, Darius soon found his magazine unexpectedly dry. Before he could reload a new magazine into his gun, the lone surviving bunny began to hop away at a rapid pace.

“Oh no you don’t,” he muttered, drawing his handgun from his holster. As he raced after the rabbit, he heard assorted cries as the front doors of the manner burst open. Darius swiftly tackled the rabbit, pointing his gun against it’s head.

“Don’t shoot!” He quickly turned his head back, noticing the quickly advancing equines. Things were about to get complicated.

The graveyard was silent, the only motion provided by the slight swaying of dead trees in the wind. However, the dead were all but peaceful. They had been preparing for this night, spending years to enact their plan. All the pieces were in place, all that was left to do was wait for the moon rise.

A solitary top hat tumbled off of a grave marker, landing on the patch of dirt below.

Almost instantly, a sickly green hand reached out, grabbed it, and pulled it under. The Groom would rise again.

And he could owe it all to the blood moon rising.

Chapter 2: Full Moon

“Don’t shoot!” Darius quickly turned his head back, noticing the quickly advancing equines. Things were about to get complicated.

“Now calm down,” Darius held out a hand in an attempt to placate the ponies. “I’m not doing anything that these little bastards won’t deserve.”

It seems the gunslinger wasn’t known for his diplomacy, because the approaching crowd didn’t slow it’s pace, rather, they increased their speed to him. Surprising him was the fact that the timid yellow pegasus was leading the charge against him. That pony nearly shrank into nothing the first time he had used his guns, now she was charging an armed man. He had been tempting to turn the gun on her, if not for the fact that she neglected to watch her footing.

Fluttershy ran over the gore that was left from the earlier massacre and found herself falling to the ground in confusion. The poor pegasus took a moment to register just what had caused her to trip, and why the ground was so wet. She only then realized that it was the remains of other creatures that she was too slow to rescue in time, and that she was covered in their blood.

Everyone, and everypony was silent. The friends of the pegasus stood away, not even the down-to-earth Applejack wanted her own hooves to be covered in gore. All watched the small pegasus who remained silent, but fixated on the ground below her.

"How... dare you. What in the name of bloody Celestia gives you the right to... to..." the Pegasus was choking on tears, "murder these defenseless... They were a family! You!" Fluttershy looked up and locked eyes of the arms dealer. Fear and rage rolled into his being as he stared into the angry eyes of the mare. He felt fear, and tried to draw the pistol towards her, but his arms were locked in place. He couldn't move, he couldn't even blink; like staring back into the disembodied eye of cthulu. "You will put down that creature and that... thing this instant! You hear me?" gone was the soft whisper, replaced by the alto demands of the possessed pegasus.

The rabbit struggled writhing Darius’ grasp before biting down on the man’s finger. The creature scrambled towards the pegasus, despite her fearful demeanor, who sweetly picked it up. “Don’t worry little fellow, you’re safe now.” she cooed, stroking the little creature’s head despite the mess around her.

“Look sir. Ah know you saved our lives in’ all, but ah think it’s best that you put that gun down.” AJ cried out while advancing on the gunslinger, giving the bloody grass a wide berth as she stepped around it. Rainbow Dash caught her eye above her to the right, moving slower than Applejack had ever seen her move. Seems the pegasus had not forgotten the damage that weapon could employ in just an instant.

“You have no idea what you’re doing,” Darius warned, still trying struggling against his own body for control. “That lil’ beast in your hooves can kill you at any moment!”

“Oh be quiet,” Rainbow Dash sneered. “If there’s anypony who can handle animals, it’s Fluttershy!” the pegasus pointed at her friend, who was still huddled with the bunny, just as scared as the little creature was. Twilight could be seen walking towards her friend, parting hoof-sized indents in the red grass and bodies with her magic with every step.

Darius finally regained control of his limbs, though it felt like he had been holding up the sky itself for days. Applejack tensed while Rainbow dropped from the sky and in front of Fluttershy, glaring at the man.

Both were surprised as the gunman pushed his pistol into the lining of his jacket and raised a hand, finger pointing to the west. Despite themselves, the ponies looked to where Darius directed.

The sun was setting. Brilliant rays that poured around the tops of the far off mountains. It was something of natural and untamed beauty, but it was nothing that the ponies had never seen before. They looked back to the man in confusion.

But they saw what was behind him. The moon that they had grown accustomed to in Equestria was nothing like it was at this time. The white surface was replaced with crimson and unnatural light began to shine down around the arms dealer as it rose higher into the sky. A rumble echoed through Terraria as the blood moon reared it’s head. Darius whispered to himself, voice shaking. “A blood moon is rising…”

The moon was rising. That wasn’t supposed to be happening. Luna was asleep, how could the moon raise itself without her? Celestia panicked in the tallest tower of Canterlot Palace, glancing at the massive red orb on the horizon.

The moon isn’t supposed to be red either. However, it wasn’t the color of the moon nor its arrival that worried the Princess of the Sun the most. It was the condition of her sister.

Luna’s condition had worsened in the medical ward. Her breathing had become erratic, but the most worrying thing were the constant tremors that wracked her hooves. Celestia had assumed the worse when her sister had started convulsing uncontrollably. It had taken at least four guard members and a nurse to hold her down before she hurt herself. It had lasted a full minute before the lunar princess lay still once more, making the only sign of life a slow heart beating and a shallow breath.

Though they suggested many, Celestia turned down any offers of medication aside from those that would reduce her sister’s pain and fever. The gift of immortality that they had been given came with the immunity from disease along with decay. Though it pained the princess to see her sister in such agony, she knew it had to run it’s course. No, the malady that affected her was effecting her in such a way that went beyond medicinal comprehension.

But, perhaps, one of magical understanding could be the key.

Excusing all in audience who were in Luna’s chambers. Many left without word, though some tarried long enough to give their regards, or glance at Celestia with tear streaked faces as they left their beloved diarch alone. Save it be the sun.

The door shut behind her, and Celestia walked to the bed of her dear sister who flickered in and out of consciousness while in her fitful, feverish state. Sparing but a moment to touch Luna’s face with the side of her hoof, Celestia lowered her head and gently rested her own horn against that of her sister’s.

The second their horns met, searing pain erupted over Celestia’s body. She fell to the ground, her horn swelling. There was dark magic at play inside her sister, but what? As Celestia rose to her hooves, she noticed the purple aura on her sister’s body.

Yes, something was very, very wrong.

The ponies eyes traced the growing crimson on it’s path towards Fluttershy where is shined upon her and the creature she held in her hooves.

The rabbit stopped it’s trembling and grew still. “Oh, what’s wrong?” Fluttershy tried to communicate with the bunny. The creature ignored Fluttershy’s inquiry. Instead, the rabbit’s fear subsided, replaced by something it had never felt in its life. The lust for flesh.

It chomped down on Fluttershy’s leg, drawing blood. The pegasus screamed and, despite herself, began pulling at the creature, trying to dislodge the rabbit from the vulnerable flesh of her leg. Though it did little good, as the creature only found more vulnerable areas to claw and bite, finally finding her neck and clamping down tight.

Twilight and Applejack both ran to Fluttershy’s aid. Applejack made it it first and wrapped her hooves around the furry creature’s neck before pulling with all her strength. She dislodged the rabbit from her friend, teeth trailing blood, and found herself holding the thing at legs length as it clawed at her calloused hooves and snapped it’s blood covered teeth mere inches away from the earth pony’s face.

Applejack stood still in panic, but relaxed when a aura field of purple light encased the rabbit and tore it from her hooves. Twilight, with her horn alight, sent the creature flying in the opposite direction with a tilt of her head. In their panic, the ponies hadn’t noticed Darius draw the handgun from his holster and line up the sights to his right eye. All he needed now was a good shot.

The rabbit landed in a jumbled roll, but found it’s footing and, soon enough, was barreling back towards the three ponies that stood around it’s feast. The creature gathered itself low and sprang for Twilight’s own exposed neck. The alicorn braced herself in front of Fluttershy, ready to weather the blow.

A resounding BANG echoed through the area, and the creature practically exploded in a hail of blood and ichor which splattered against the transparent shield which Twilight had erected only moments before. Recognizing the now unforgettable gunshots, the equines slowly turned to Darius, who held up his pistol with both hands.”Inside.” He barked. “Now!”

Nopony moved aside from Pinkie who was calming a distraught and huddled Fluttershy, by wrapping her hooves around her neck. Part to sooth, another to staunch the bleeding from her wound. “Fine, you know what?” Darius raised his hands in defeat before holstering his gun. “I’ll let you all die out here. See if I care.” He stormed past the ponies, slamming the doors of the manor behind him.

Silence followed the arms dealer’s reaction. The only sound that could be heard was the quiet sobbing from Fluttershy, though that did not last long. The crimson drenched shadows that heralded the blood moon spilled into the forest, where a cacophony of growls and tortured animalistic screams could be heard almost instantly at the light’s touch.

The first to run was Rarity. The second she turned to bolt for the doors, her friends and bodyguards followed. However, as the six friends burst through the door, the guards slammed it shut before entering. Twilight spun around and attempted to open the doors, but found they were being magically sealed on the other side.

“Princess,” Sheathed Sword addressed from outside, his voice quivering. “Our mission was to protect you from harm’s way. As we are military personnel, I do believe we should be the ones to hold the line.”

“What? You can’t be serious! You’ll just die out there!” Twilight choked, pushing her hooves against the door in vain.

Twilight got no response other than the heavy breathing outside of the doors. “Please! Open the doors!” She pounded for what felt like forever, but the doors were sealed. She felt five fingers grasp her shoulder and pull back, knocking her onto her haunches. “W-What are you doing?” She screamed at Darius, who began to lower a metal bar over the handles.

“You heard the guys,” Darius locked it into place. “Nobody gets in, nobody gets out.” He pulled Twilight back to her hooves, pointing at the open door at the end of the hall. “Everybody's all holed up in there, lets go!”

Not wanting a repeat of Darius’ actions from outside, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity all scrambled along side the arms dealer. Twilight herself was immobile, staring at the door in front of her as if it didn’t exist. Both AJ and RD were waiting for their friend to move, but were surprised when the princess charged at the door, banging her hooves against the wooden frame while futilely attempting to raise the metal bar from the front of the door.

“No! No! You’re not supposed to die for me! I’m not worth dying for!” screamed the alicorn, voice cracking from the effort. Instantly, the earth pony and pegasus rushed to her friend, Applejack pulling at Twilight’s middle while RD gripped around her friend her neck. They both tried pulling her away from the door without injuring her friend, but Twilight was insistent, and had more strength than Applejack expected from the librarian.

“They ain’t gonna die, Sugarcube,” Applejack wrapped a hoof around Twilight.

“No,” Darius spoke up. “They probably will.” The four other ponies glared at him as Twilight broke into a sob. “Tonight’s the blood moon. The zombies out there? Gonna tear them to shreds.”

Rainbow Dash cringed. She remembered marathoning scary movies with Pinkie, the shambling corpses known as zombies devouring all of ponykind. “They… They exist?”

“Mhm,” Darius grimly smiled. “When you shoot one, their legs, arms, sometimes even heads fly off. But the demons just keep on walkin’.”

Twilight surrendered to her friends, Rainbow pulling her on Applejack’s back as she hung there limply. “C’mon Twi,” She meekly patted her friend. “It’s just… Listen, I’m sure we’ll be alright. I mean, what can some dumb dead guys do to us?”

“Hellen could tell ya,” Darius said, moving towards the hallway “Woman has some stories she could tell bout how creative those things could be in gettin’ to your innards, but-” A large crash could be heard behind them. Applejack looked behind her, and saw that a large portion of the door had a splintering crack running across it. Through the crack snaked an arm of decayed and patchwork flesh which caught on the splinters of the door and peeled off at the contact. The arm continued through the door past the elbow and proceeded to aimlessly writhe through the air.

That was enough for the farm pony to realize that the threat was real, and they needed to regroup. Not waiting for any word from the others, she ran past Darius and into the room that her three other friends, ignoring Twilight tearing out a few strands of her mane as she held on for dear life. Not far behind her was the rest of the party with the arms dealer trailing behind. The man stood in the hallway long enough to jam on a brick next to the door which gave way to his touch, sliding into an indent with an audible click.

Darius wasted no more time in running into the room where the rest of the residents were held. Swinging the door behind him, he pulled a steel latch against the strong wood that was adorned in metal studs and crossbeams. Obviously, this was meant to take quite a beating.

The breathless man took a moment to scan his surroundings for anything out of place. He had spent countless hours preparing and, in some cases, repairing this room when the main door wouldn’t hold. Everything was in place, but what about everyone? “Hellen was lifting that purple one off of the hayseed pony’s back. Poor girl, probably never had to lose a friend like that before. “ Darius thought to himself, continuing with his mental checklist. “That old dirtbag wearing a helmet is in the corner, putting the finishing fuses on those blast sticks of his. Probably kill us all with that. Rest of those ponies are here too. Well, minus a two.” The arms dealer grimaced. Even though they were creatures he couldn’t relate to and hardly knew, they didn’t deserve the fate that awaited them at the end of a zombie’s maw.

Twilight found purchase with four hooves on the ground, no longer shaking. Nurse Hellen tried to help stand her, but she found a hoof roughly pushing her out of the way. The Alicorn took a few steps away from the nurse and towards the arms dealer. Though her face was tear streaked, her eyes burned with a hatred that contrasted the brightness of her colors. Any other situation, the man would have laughed at the sight, but the raw anger in her eyes gave him caution.

“In Celestias name, you will tell us what’s going on here!” The alicorn spoke, an unnatural resonance accenting each syllable.

“You saw that moon out there! That crap ain’t natural. Makes the dead stronger and causes one hell of a waking nightmare. I was doing the rabbits out there a favor!” Despite his experience dealing with some of the worse minor horrors that crawled out of Hell, the arms dealer found himself taking a step back.

“I don’t care about the damn rabbits! I just lost two ponies out there! You have till the flap of a pegasus’ wings to explain why you thought it necessary to leave out this detail!” Twilight kept her advance, and Darius stepped back, but was met by the hard, cool sensation of the wall pressed against him.

“Don’t know if you noticed angry eyes, but this here house is a bit big for just three of us, right? We’re short handed. Been losing people left and right to these things for months. We knew this moon was comin’, and knew it would be more than the three of us could handle. We needed bodies.” Darius began a slow reach into his jacket, fingers rubbing against the leather of his holster.

“Well you have them.” Twilight choked out. “Two of them. We could have helped you if you’d just asked, now you’re undeserving of it.” Darius blinked. He could have sworn he saw lightning arc across the alicorn’s teeth and she chewed out those words. He had enough with taking chances.

Darius, with the quickness of a gunslinger, unclipped his handgun from the holster and brought it out to level at Twilight, right below her horn. Before he could flip the safety catch, he saw her horn light up and found his gun turn an angry red and become hot like a demon’s breath, sizzling against his skin. The man dropped it to the ground and grasped at his hand. The firearm fell to the ground, scorching the wood in a black outline of itself. Twilight’s horn shone even brighter, with her eyes leveled at the man with angry intent.

Everyone in the room was petrified. Pinkie wasn’t smiling, and anypony else was too stunned at what was happening in front of them to move.

But everyone in the room jumped when someone or thing pounded at the door. A staccato of hard taps followed by shouting. “Hey! Hey! Open up! Please! They’re coming!” came the muffled voice of Low Rider. “The door is locked! I can’t open it! Please, I can hear you’re in there!”

Before anyone could react, Twilight Sparkle ran to the door, momentarily forgetting about her magic as she pushed aside Darius and threw open the latch with her hoof. She pulled the door in, leaving the man just enough time to shout out in protest.

Standing in the hallway was the pegasus from before. Though his armor bloodied and one eye swollen closed. He also showed only half an ear on the left which had obvious bite and tear marks. As gruesome as he his injuries were, it was hard to dwell on them when a look of overwhelming relief adorned his face.

“Princess. I’m so glad it’s-” Low Rider began, but his words were interrupted by several loud TWANG noises that came from the hallway. The sound that Rainbow could only describe is a feather flying at her speed came shortly after. Then Low Rider sported a new trail of crimson across his neck as the first arrow hit his left side.

The pegasus looked down at the wound, the smile of relief still plastered on his face, but it had lost all it’s mirth. Moments later, several more darts flew and imbedded into his side. Those that didn’t bounce off his armor found crevices in it or embedded deeply in his exposed wings and flesh.

Low Rider gave a single crimson laced cough, reaching up to the dart at his neck before he found his balance had left him with a raised hoof. He fell forward in front of the princess just inside the doorway. Twilight only stared in complete shock as the blood began to pool around her once stalwart guard.

“You idiot!” Darius roared with renewed rage and vigor. He unceremoniously kicked the remains of Low Rider hard enough to send them skidding away from the door with sickening crack and a trial of blood. Fluttershy could be heard retching in the corner of the room, with no comfort besides a leg from Applejack gently stroking her mane, though her own eyes were as distant as Twilight’s who stared at the harm she caused, flinching when Darius slammed the door. The man bent over to pick up his gun, taking only a moment to wipe off the splattered blood from his shoes in the process. Looking over his firearm, he swore after pushing the magazine release and seeing that the metal was welded into the frame of the gun. Even if the weapon still worked after the heat, it would only be able to fire a few rounds.

Still, it was worth trying. Twilight didn’t flinch when Darius pointed the gun at her and tried pulling the trigger. The metal didn’t budge, it was stuck against the guard. Frustrated, the gun man threw the worthless piece of metal, pinging it across Twilight’s skull. This did little but bring the unicorn back to reality as she looked the man straight in the eye. Darius stood, ready to dodge an incoming horn when he noticed a glow coming from the being’s eyes and from her horn. Weightlessness enveloped the man as he found himself pinned against the wall. The weightlessness was drastically changed as a crushing force pinned his arms and stilted his breathing.

Behind his head, the man could hear scratching and clawing against the wood, as if the undead behind him could smell his worried breath through the wall.

“W...aaait,” the gunslinger managed to choke out through the increasing pressure against his lungs. “You’ll die...” his voice was silenced by a flinch of the powerful creature in front of him. Twilight seemed unrelenting as her horn continued to glow as brightly as ever. It seemed that Darius’ fate was sealed.

A pure white hoof on the shoulder of the alicorn brought a momentary pause to the pressure, and a voice in her ear cut the spell entirely.

“You’re killing him. Don’t do that, Twilight.” Spoke Rarity, in her own attempt to calm the storm. Darius fell to his knees, grasping at his chest and gasping for air.

“Alright. I... My mistake.” said the gunslinger, coughing still.

Words on deaf ears as Twilight turned from her friend and walked back with sunken shoulders to the nearest wall. Rarity let her go, but advanced on the man on his knees.

“It doesn’t need to be said again what you’ve done here. But it doesn’t take a college education to realize you know this dreadful place more than we do,” The pure white unicorn looked back at her friend “Though, Luna save my soul, I was tempted to let her continue after seeing... I mean I only knew him for a short few days but...” She turned back to the man, eyes shadowed by tear stained maskere, though her expression was stern.

“Get us out of here. You owe us that much.”

Darius, shakily, rose back to his feet, his fingers still scarred and burned. “You… Have no idea… How hard it’s going to be… We’ll... “ Darius coughed, a tooth spitting out of his mouth. “We’ll all die if we try getting out…”

“If you don’t,” Twilight spoke up again, “I’ll kill you now.”

The room was silent, save for Fluttershy’s continuing sobbing. Finally, Darius spoke up, pointing to a bookcase near the wall. “Got an elevator to the upstairs. Get in.” Helen flipped a nearby switch, and the bookcase split, opening like elevator doors.

Just as he spoke, more harrowing twangs fired out from the hallway, accompanied by the low groans of the undead. Although Twilight didn’t like this man in the slightest, she knew it was her only way out. “C’mon girls!” She ordered, the rest of the ponies snapping to attention. “Into the elevator!”

As they all ran into the lift, Helen spoke up again. “D-Darius do you think they’ll turn on us?”

Darius blocked the question of his mind “Get in, they’re just outside—” Before he finished speaking, zombies burst into the room through the walls around the door, all shambling at him at a steady rate. He drew his Boomstick from his back and fired out two shots, both of them sending zombies careening against the wall from the blast. Before he could fumble around for shells, Helen grabbed the gunslinger’s arm and pulled it into the elevator.

Before the doors could properly close, a single zombie got its arm inside the elevator doors. Thankfully, they slammed shut as the elevator ascended. The zombie’s arm slid up before it hit the ceiling, properly severing it. The arm flopped away from the door, falling at the hooves of Rainbow Dash and lay still for a moment. She stared at the appendage, but couldn’t keep from crying out as the thing sprang to life and tried to grab her leg. The pegasus backpedaled, but could only go so far in the cramped elevator. Before the arm could get much further, Twilight incinerated it with a thought, leaving only ash and an acrid smell.

Then, there was only the sound of near a dozen lungs taking a breath, as if they held it as one. Another moment passed, and one could start to hear another sound. A slight melody starts playing from the ceiling, one that might cause a toe to tap if the situation were different.

“E-Elevator music?” Dash tried to laugh. “W-What… Why…”

“Hey, I never thought I’d have to use it like this.” Darius shrugged.

“Where’s it headin’? Place only had a few floors, seems we a’ve made the top by now.” Applejack asks.

“The observatory.” He answered, properly reloading his boomstick. “Get ready.”

Before any of them could react, the doors opened.