:Location Unknown:

"PLEASE! DON'T HURT HER!" Rarity's plea fell on deaf ears as Gargos thrust his foot into Sweetie Belle's small form, earning a cry of pain from the Unicorn filly as the force of his kick threw her across the air and into one of the nearby trees.

Rarity and the rest of her friends could only watch in horror as Sweetie Belle landed on the ground and remained motionless, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked away and cried, unable to see their friend hurt like this.

"Y-You...you said you would let her go..." Fluttershy muttered as she struggled to hold in her tears.

Gargos chuckled evilly. "And I did, just not the way you expected me to."

Twilight Sparkle glared daggers at Gargos and charged up her horn. "You MONSTER!" She yelled as she fired a beam of magic at the dark man.

Gargos chuckled again and thrust his hand forward. "ENDOKUKEN!" A dark fireball shot forth and easily blasted its way through Twilight's magic attack, much to her shock.

Acting fast, Rarity used her magic to put up a barrier around them, but the force of the dark fireball was much more powerful than she anticipated, as it shattered through the barrier like glass and exploded into the ground between them.

As the six mares struggled to get back to their hoofs, Gargos pointed a finger at them and said, "I'm afraid your path ends here."

"Oh yeah?! We'll see about that you jerk!" Rainbow Dash responded before shooting forward.

Gargos grinned deviously behind his mask and remained still as the cyan Pegasus was closing in. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to collide with his still form, Gargos shot his hand out and grabbed her by the neck, halting her advance and her attack. "Foolish creatures, your overconfidence has only guaranteed your downfall." He growled.

"Let her go right now you big meanie!" Pinkie Pie shouted, clearly not happy at seeing her friend being choked by the dark man.

Rainbow Dash struggled to break free and gasped for air as Gargos tightened his grip around her neck. Before she could make any further escape attempts, Gargos hammered her into the ground.

"DASH!" Applejack tried getting back to her hoofs but the blast from the dark fireball had taken quite a toll on her body. "D-Darn it! Jus' who do ya think ya are comin' in here and attackin' everypony?!"

Gargos smirked. "I am a god, I do as I please." He looked down at the battered Rainbow Dash and slowly pressed his foot onto her head. "Now, I think it's about time to get rid of you annoying creatures, I have much more important matters to attend to."

Seeing Gargos raise his foot slightly above Rainbow Dash's head, Fluttershy cried out, "NO DON'T! PLEASE! STOP!"

Thirty Minutes Earlier

Fulgore's awareness returned to him as he slowly sat up and began surveying his surroundings. He was in front of some dark forest, the trees looked old and there were thorny vines everywhere.

Getting to his metal feet, Fulgore turned around and looked upon the next thing that had piqued his curiosity. A large old castle, and old was an understatement. It could've been a thousand years old for all he knew, maybe older, he probably wasn't far off. The walls had holes in them and most of the structures had collapsed, it looked like there used to be statues but there was little left of them too.

However, he didn't recall seeing any castles earlier. The last thing he could remember was fighting Gargos in the mountains, then getting dragged into The Rift that just appeared out of nowhere. Now here he was, next to an old castle and a messy and, rather dangerous looking forest.

Fulgore let out a low metallic growl as he continued to scan the area. His readings caught him by surprise. Energy readings themselves were off the charts! They were everywhere! His scanners normally wouldn't have picked up so many signatures like this, but there was no denying the readings he was receiving. In one direction, there were a lot of energy signatures. In another direction, it was the exact same thing.

Deciding to try something else, Fulgore looked up at the sky. Again, he was receiving energy signatures there too, albeit they were a little further away, and they were moving quite fast.

Nothing made sense. How could there possibly be so many readings? The only readings his scanners picked up back at the mountains were Gargos and The Rift, other than that, the mountain area was devoid of anything else.

Suddenly, his scanners beeped again and Fulgore noticed one certain energy signature slowly approaching his position. Clenching his metal fists, Fulgore readied into a stance as he prepared to defend himself.

Rather than someone appearing before him however, a large dark fireball shot forward from the forest and right towards him. Fulgore sidestepped it and turned back to the forest where he saw the source of the fireball slowly approaching him from the shadows. Gargos.

"This is most certainly a strange place, I must admit." Gargos said as he stopped a good few feet away from the cyborg, folding his arms over his chest as he continued. "Only a few minutes ago I encountered a large beast with a scorpion like tail, and it was quite the aggressive creature. Fortunately, it ran away once it felt the wrath of my fist."

Fulgore continued to stare at him, remaining silent as the dark man paced around the area. "I can't help but wonder though, where exactly are we? What is this place? And, where does all of the energy come from?" He cast a quick glance at the cyborg and said, "You can feel it too can you not? This place, it is consumed with energy, it is in the very air."

Gargos stopped pacing and looked up at the old castle. "Earth had nothing like this, otherwise I would have known right away. This is the first time I have felt so much energy before, it's amazing. Just imagine, the kind of power one would possess if they had it all to themselves."

It didn't take a genius to figure out what the dark man was implying and Fulgore knew all too well.

"I feel more than just energy though, there's something else, something, powerful." Gargos added as he looked around. "I can feel auras emanating from many beings, some weak, others a little more neutral, a few more that are stronger, and two...two that are really powerful."

Finally, Gargos turned and faced Fulgore again. "The unknown light was clearly a Dimensional Rift, how it was caused however, that I am still unsure of. The Rift itself has clearly taken us to a whole new realm, that much I do know. What this realm is however, where it is, I still have yet to figure out. I think it's time for me to tour this land and see what mysteries it holds, I admit, it has piqued my interest greatly."

Fulgore clenched his metal fists and thrust them forward, firing several Energy Bolts at the dark spirit.

As the energy bolts shot towards him, the ground beneath Gargos shifted and the dark man was engulfed in shadow. Just as the energy bolts were about to hit their mark, Gargos faded into the shadows and melted into the ground, forcing Fulgore's energy attack to miss its target.

With the help of his scanners, Fulgore saw that Gargos had moved on up ahead through the dark forest. The cyborg growled and rushed through the forest to catch his enemy, his large metal form crushing everything that stood in his way as he pursued the dark spirit.

Twilight Sparkle sat in silence as she wondered when the rest of her friends would show up, while Spike had left the castle to go and speak with Mayor Mare about dealing with the reconstruction of the Golden Oak Library.

It had only been around a month after Tirek's defeat and the situation with the library had yet to be taken care of. Mayor Mare had arranged for some help to be provided in the library's reconstruction, Spike offered to go and help lead the reconstruction in Twilight's place so she could remain in the castle and tend to more important duties. The young Alicorn was more than willing to let him go, as she was eager to get started in her duties with her friends, if they ever showed up that is.

When she thought about it though, she didn't really plan on blaming them if they didn't show up. After all, when it came down to it, they had their own personal things to tend to, their own jobs and duties that had to be taken care of, and those came before anything else.

Before any of them got involved with her, they were just normal Ponies living the usual ordinary life just like everypony else, but now, in this very castle that she sat in, there was a small throne reserved for each of them. Maybe their lack of interest was due to being too nervous, maybe it was all too much for them to take in and they were still deciding if such duties were right for them. Twilight felt a little hurt and worried that her friends would probably show no interest in these responsibilities and decline them, but she would be fine with their decision either way, after all, everypony has a right to decide how to live their own lives.

Yes. Free will, to decide how to live your life the way you want to live it. That choice belonged to every living being in the world. To be denied that choice, would be sinful and completely unforgivable, Twilight understood that all too well.

Rather than just sitting in silence while waiting for her friends, Twilight Sparkle decided to get some fresh air and trotted her way to the castle entrance and stepped outside.

Taking a deep breath, the lavender mare smiled as she looked up at the bright morning sky. Today was going to be another interesting day, she could tell.

"Princess Twilight! Princess Twilight!"

Rolling her eyes, Twilight turned around and smiled at the three small Ponies that were running towards her. The Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Hey Princess we wanna-" Scootaloo was cut off as she tripped up and fell into her friends.

Twilight rolled her eyes again and watched as the three fillies rolled towards her and stopped at her forehoofs. "First off, you might want to watch where you're going." She said with an amused chuckle. "Second, I keep telling you, for the last time, just call me Twilight, you should know by now I don't like being addressed like that, I'm just not really comfortable with it to be honest."

"Sorry Princess...I mean...umm...Twilight." Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

Twilight smiled and said, "So what can I help the three of you with? I'm assuming it has something to do with earning your Cutie Marks?"

Apple Bloom nodded. "That's right! We wanna ask ya if we can help around in the castle!"

"Help around?" Twilight raised a brow in confusion.

Sweetie Belle smiled cheerfully as she spoke next. "Yeah! We figured that since you have a castle here now, we were talking and figured, maybe there'd be something we can do to help out that would end up getting us our Cutie Marks!"

Twilight chuckled slightly at the fillies cheerful attitudes. "Sorry girls but I'm not looking for any help right now. The castle is still new and I've already got Spike helping out, thanks for offering though."

A collective 'aw' was her response as the fillies looked at the ground.

"But..." Their ears perked up and they looked up with hopeful smiles as she continued. "Spike is currently helping Mayor Mare out with the library so I guess the three of you could help me...get everything organised for when the others show up?"

"You got it Twilight!" They all shouted in unison.

Twilight rolled her eyes again as the three fillies ran off towards the castle and used her magic to levitate them back in front of her. "Hold on now. Do you know where the others are? They normally would have shown up by now."

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Rarity did say she would be here soon, I bet she's just doing what she always does every morning. 'Oh I must make sure I look my best for when I see my friends later! I better make sure my mane looks perfect, and I cannot afford to miss a single spot on my face, oh the horror if I don't make myself look flawless!'. I wouldn't be surprised." The filly said after doing a rather humorous impression of her older sister.

Twilight giggled before turning to Apple Bloom. "What about Applejack, where is she?"

"She got up early ta help put in a little bit of work on the farm before headin' over here. Ah bet she'll be showin' up in a few minutes now." Apple Bloom replied.

Nodding, Twilight turned to Scootaloo. "Have you seen Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy anywhere?"

Scootaloo shrugged. "Sorry Twilight, haven't seen either of them."

"Hey Twilight!"

Twilight smiled after hearing the familiar voice and turned around to see Pinkie Pie trotting towards her, followed by Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy. "I was nervous you wouldn't show up."

Applejack chuckled. "Come on Twi, you know us better than that. We were jus' busy that's all, ah know we got these new duties and responsibilities ta take care of, but our personal lives come first ya know. Helpin' mah big brother out on the farm is somethin' ah've been doin' for a long time now, that's always gonna come first."

Twilight nodded. "It's fine Applejack, I completely understand."

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. "Well, we're here now darling so just let us know what we can do to help and we will do what we can to the best of our abilities."

"Well-" Twilight was interrupted by Pinkie Pie was bounced in front of her.

"Oh! Do you need us to help set up a part?! A celebration?! We still haven't had one yet after we beat that big meanie Tirek! We should have one! I can get to it right now if you want Twilight! I'll head on back and get my Party Cannon! I can't get everything started without my Party Cannon after all! How about it?! Huh?! Huh?! Huh?! I can bring some extra confetti and some extra balloons and-" Pinkie was cut off by Rarity who put a forehoof on her mouth.

"Please Pinkie, it's still morning and I honestly think it's too early for such things." Rarity said as she took her hoof away.

"Okie dokie lockie!" Pinkie said cheerfully as she started bouncing around.

Fluttershy spoke up. "Umm, Twilight, have you, seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?"

Twilight shook her head. "No I haven't Fluttershy. I bet she's just being lazy again and decided not to show up."

"Heh, yeah right Twilight."

All Ponies turned and set their sights on one of the nearby trees. "Rainbow? When did you get here?" Twilight asked as the cyan Pegasus leaned over the branch she was lying on to show herself.

"I've been here the entire time, what did ya think?" Rainbow said as she flew down to ground level.

Twilight raised a brow at her friend. "I was thinking you were going to forget about today and not bother showing up."

"Me? Forget? Nah, I'll always be here on time. I was here so early that neither of you were here yet so I just decided to take a nap in the tree." Rainbow said in her usual overconfident tone as she stretched her legs.

Scootaloo smiled. "That's Rainbow for ya."

"Whatever." Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom muttered as they rolled their eyes.

Rainbow shrugged. "Well we're all here now so let's just get on with it already, I have a few things I wanna do today so can we make this quick?"

Twilight sighed. "This is serious business Rainbow, you can't just rush through it and expect it to be done perfectly. The duties we have require hard accurate work and full concentration so that we..." She stopped after noticing Rainbow was in lala land, not paying attention to anything she was saying. "Ugh, whatever. Come on girls, let's head inside."

The six mares turned and started heading towards the castle followed by the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"So darling, you are the Princess here, why don't you tell us what our duties will consist of today." Rarity said.

Twilight smiled. "Well Rarity, I'm honestly not sure myself, that's why I was waiting for all of you to show up, so we could all discuss it together. I'd never make any decisions without the judgement of my friends."

Fluttershy returned her smile. "Well, we'll...we'll be sure to do our very best. I'm sure that with each others support, nothing will be too difficult."

"That's the spirit Fluttershy." Twilight said. "Now let's hurry up and-" She stopped in her tracks, forcing the rest of the Ponies to stop right behind her.

"Whoa, what's the hold up Twi?" Applejack asked as she gave her friend a confused look.

Twilight said nothing.

The other mares and fillies all just continued to stare at her for a moment before moving to her side to see what had her full attention.

What they saw made their eyes widen in shock.

Something slowly rose out of the ground from some sort of black puddle. It was a strange biped creature, one that they'd never seen before.

It was pale and dark and half of its lower parts were covered in clothing, while its upper parts were bare, save for strange symbols on it along with the chains around its torso and the large sword that hung from its back. It had a small patch of fur on top of its head and small straps around the back of its head, along with some sort of bandana that was tied around its forehead just under the fur.

What was frightening however was the horrible dark aura emanating from it, and they all felt it.

"So, this is one of the many local areas in this land." The creature said in a very deep and gruff toned voice.

Applejack turned to Fluttershy. "Umm...F-Fluttershy...you're...you're good with animals...any idea what that creature is?"

Fluttershy lowered herself and hid behind Rarity. "I-I....I...I don't know...I've never seen anything like that in my life."

"Hmm?" The creature slowly looked over its shoulder at them.

The Ponies all gasped when they saw the creatures face. Its face was completely hideous, almost skeletal like but looked like it was made from some metal material. The creatures teeth were fully bared at them and it had pupil-less eyes.

"W-What is that thing?" Scootaloo asked as she and her friends hid behind the older mares.

Pinkie Pie opened her mouth to speak but was quickly stopped by Rarity. "Hush darling! We don't know if this...this...thing...is dangerous."

As the creature fully turned to face them, Twilight quietly cleared her throat and slowly took a step forward. "I...I don't believe we've seen any creature like you before..." She said, being very cautious as she could still feel the dark aura coming from the creature. "My name is Twilight Sparkle...may I ask who you are and...what you are?"

The creature continued to stare at her, its pupil-less eyes showing no emotion whatsoever. "...Talking horses? Ridiculous." The creature spat as it turned its back to them and began walking away.

The Ponies all just watched in shock as it walked away, completely taken aback and, somewhat offended by its words.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash shouted and flew towards the creature.

"Rainbow wait!" Twilight called out to her friend but couldn't stop her.

The Pegasus flew in front of the creature and stopped it in its tracks as she hovered in front of it face to face. "Just who do you think you are?!"

The creature narrowed its eyes at her. "Out of my way horse, I have better things to do than waste time with pitiful creatures like yourselves."

As the creature attempted to walk on, Rainbow Dash flew in front of it again. "I don't think so! One minute you just show up and the next you insult us?! What's the big deal?! And for the record, we're Ponies! Not horses! And if you think I'm just gonna let you insult us like you did and just get away with it then-"

Rainbow was cut off as the creature swiftly raised its arm and grabbed her by the throat. "You annoy me." With a loud roar, he spun around and threw Rainbow at her friends.

"RAINBOW!" Twilight quickly caught her friend with her magic and set her down next to the others. "Are you okay?!"

Rainbow Dash rubbed her neck as she glared back at the creature. "Y-Yeah..." She coughed. "Yeah I'm fine..."

Twilight turned and glared at the creature again as it continued to stare at them. "Why did you do that?! Who do you think you are coming here and hurting my friends?!"

The creature growled, forcing Twilight and the others to recoil in fear. "Watch your tone little horse, or you won't be as lucky."

Quickly building up her confidence again, Twilight stepped forward and said, "I suggest you watch what you say, whoever you are. We are the subjects of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, if you even so much as harm any of us...you will regret it."

"Ha!" The Ponies all stared in confusion as the creature laughed. "Hahaha! Fools! You obviously have no idea who I am! I am Gargos, The Supreme Warlord! The Tiger Spirit! And a God! You think pitiful creatures like you can intimidate me with such empty threats?! Don't be ridiculous!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes at him, atleast she had gotten a name. But he called himself a God. It was clear this Gargos was quite egotistical, probably more so than previous foes that she and her friends had faced. Their past enemies had always boasted and believed themselves superior, but never once had they called themselves Gods.

"Well then Gargos! If you think you'll be getting a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party then you can forget about it! You'll have to apologise to my friend first before I consider throwing a party for you and I never not throw parties for new Ponies who come into Ponyville! So apologise!" Pinkie Pie said in slightly serious tone.

Gargos raised a brow and waved his hand. "Please, such things are beneath me." He turned back to Twilight. "However, I can sense various auras emanating from you and all of your...friends. Tell me where I am, tell me who is in charge and maybe, I might just let you live."

"...You're in Equestria, a land inhabited by us Ponies, Pegasi and Unicorns alike, ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Does that satisfy you?" Twilight spat, hoping Gargos would be satisfied with her answer and leave.

Gargos chuckled. "Ponies huh? Again, ridiculous. But I suppose there's no denying what I am seeing before me."

"Enough!" Twilight shouted. "I told what you wanted to know, now leave us alone!"

Sighing, Gargos said, "Unfortunately, the information you gave me just isn't enough. And...because of your disrespect..." Dark energy surrounded one of his hands as he pulled it back. "I will have to make you pay." He thrust his hand forward and shot a dark fireball at them. "ENDOKUKEN!"

Eyes widening at the unexpected attack, Twilight and Rarity both used their magic and put up a barrier in front of them. The fireball slammed into the barrier, cracking it like glass but it remained standing, successfully protecting them from Gargos.

"AH! RARITY!"

Or so they thought...

The six mares turned around in shock as Gargos, who was now behind them, had Sweetie Belle in his grasp, while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had backed away and kept their distance from the dark man.

"Let her go right now you evil brute!" Rarity yelled as she charged up her horn again.

Gargos wiggled a finger. "Ah ah ah...if you really care about this little one, then you will cease all hostility immediately, lest you want to see her insides scattered across the ground."

Knowing he would back up his threat, Rarity and Twilight both stopped using their magic and glared daggers at Gargos.

"Good little horses. Now, tell me, who is the most powerful in this land?" Gargos said as he tightened his grip around Sweetie Belle.

Fluttershy spoke up. "Umm...if...if we tell you, will you let her go?"

"Of course." Gargos replied, his serious tone sounding slightly convincing.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "You're lying!"

Gargos chuckled. "I swear, I will let her go. Give me the answer I desire and I will release her, and you may all walk free."

Twilight gave in and spoke up. "The most powerful beings in this land are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the ones who rule this land...now let...her...go."

Narrowing his eyes at her, Gargos smirked behind his face mask and slowly lowered Sweetie Belle to the ground. Relief almost washed over the Ponies, until Gargos stopped lowering the filly and instead swiftly raised her above his head. "Very well, I will let her go."

The Ponies all watched in horror as Gargos threw Sweetie Belle into the ground. Rarity almost fainted as she heard her sister cry in pain at the impact of hitting the ground but quickly kept herself standing and could only watch on helplessly as Gargos pressed his foot on top of Sweetie Belle's small body.

"PLEASE! DON'T HURT HER!" Rarity's plea fell on deaf ears as Gargos thrust his foot into Sweetie Belle's small form, earning a cry of pain from the Unicorn filly as the force of his kick threw her across the air and into one of the nearby trees.

Rarity and the rest of her friends could only watch in horror as Sweetie Belle landed on the ground and remained motionless, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked away and cried, unable to see their friend hurt like this.

"Y-You...you said you would let her go..." Fluttershy muttered as she struggled to hold in her tears.

Gargos chuckled evilly. "And I did, just not the way you expected me to."

Twilight Sparkle glared daggers at Gargos and charged up her horn. "You MONSTER!" She yelled as she fired a beam of magic at the dark man.

Gargos chuckled again and thrust his hand forward. "ENDOKUKEN!" A dark fireball shot forth and easily blasted its way through Twilight's magic attack, much to her shock.

Acting fast, Rarity used her magic to put up a barrier around them, but the force of the dark fireball was much more powerful than she anticipated, as it shattered through the barrier like glass and exploded into the ground between them.

As the six mares struggled to get back to their hoofs, Gargos pointed a finger at them and said, "I'm afraid your path ends here."

"Oh yeah?! We'll see about that you jerk!" Rainbow Dash responded before shooting forward.

Gargos grinned deviously behind his mask and remained still as the cyan Pegasus was closing in. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to collide with his still form, Gargos shot his hand out and grabbed her by the neck, halting her advance and her attack. "Foolish creatures, you overconfidence has only guaranteed your downfall." He growled.

"Let her go right now you big meanie!" Pinkie Pie shouted, clearly not happy at seeing her friend being choked by the dark man.

Rainbow Dash struggled to break free and gasped for air as Gargos tightened his grip around her neck. Before she could make any further escape attempts, Gargos hammered her into the ground.

"DASH!" Applejack tried getting back to her hoofs but the blast from the dark fireball had taken quite a toll on her body. "D-Darn it! Jus' who do ya think ya are comin' in here and attackin' everypony?!"

Gargos smirked. "I am a god, I do as I please." He looked down at the battered Rainbow Dash and slowly pressed his foot onto her head. "Now, I think it's about time to get rid of you annoying creatures, I have much more important matters to attend to."

Seeing Gargos raise his foot slightly above Rainbow Dash's head, Fluttershy cried out, "NO DON'T! PLEASE! STOP!"

As Gargos laughed maniacally, Twilight caught something flashing at the corner of her eye shooting in their direction. As she turned to see what it was, she had no time to examine it as the flying bolts of light shot over her and friends and right towards Gargos.

Hearing the static sounds resonating from the bolts, Gargos turned and his eyes widened when he saw them heading right for him.

Still having to lower his foot back on the ground, Gargos literally had no time to dodge or block, and roared in pain as the bolts exploded against his body, sending him flying back, while Rainbow Dash cringed and winced slightly as she whimpered in pain from the sparks that hit her body.

"W-What...what jus' happened?" Applejack asked as she looked at Rarity.

Rarity shrugged. "It-It wasn't me darling..."

"Sweetie Belle!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo rushed over to their friend to see if she was okay, quickly followed by Rarity, who picked up her sister and held her tight.

"Oh Sweetie Belle! Please wake up! Wake up dear! It's me, your sister! Sweetie Belle!" Rarity continuously called out to her little sister, hoping she wasn't as hurt as she thought she was.

"...R-Rarity...?" Sweetie Belle slowly opened her eyes and weakly looked up at her sister. "Rar...ity...?"

Smiling with tears of joy, Rarity hugged her sister again. "Oh Sweetie Belle! Just hold on darling, I'm going to get you somewhere safe!"

Gargos got back to his feet and shot a fireball at them. "FOOLS!"

"GIRLS WATCH OUT!" Applejack shouted as she rushed towards Rarity and the fillies, but the fireball was already far ahead of her.

Rarity, seeing the fireball heading straight for her, and still exhausted from Gargos' last attack, quickly grabbed the other fillies and turned her back to the fireball in an attempt to shield the three little Ponies.

And with that, the fireball exploded into the ground next to them, creating a large cloud of smoke and forcing the other Ponies to cry out in horror.

Gargos narrowed his eyes and looked around. "Now...where are you...I know you're here somewhere...only you could have possibly made such an attack..."

As Twilight sank to her knees and cried, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy attempted to comfort her, Applejack just remained where she stood and looked at the ground in hopelessness, while Rainbow Dash glared at Gargos but refrained from charging at him, knowing she would only repeat her last attempt.

Holding in her tears and letting out a quiet sniff, Rainbow Dash slowly looked away and turned to the cloud of smoke where her friend and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had been.

It was then, something caught her eye. Two small faint red lights were glowing from behind the smoke, and as the smoke slowly started to disperse, she could make out a tall dark shadow that stood just as tall as Gargos himself, and four smaller Pony sized shadows next to it. "T-Twilight...girls...look..." Rainbow Dash muttered out loud enough for them to hear.

Twilight and the others slowly looked up, their sorrow slowly vanishing as they were able to make out the forms of their friend and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, alive and well. What had their attention was the tall dark shadow that stood protectively in front of them, and Gargos himself had noticed it as he too was now staring at it.

The dark shadow let out a fierce growl as its red eyes began to glow, the faint sharp lights at its arms making a sizzling sound as it stared back at Gargos.

"What...is that?" Fluttershy asked as she and her friends stood back up.

The shadow looked at each of them for a slight moment before setting its gaze back on Gargos.

-Target Locked-

Twilight and her friends stepped back and stayed out of the way as the shadow spoke in a gruff metallic voice.

-Engaging-

Author's Note

Holy hell this took longer than I expected it to. Yeah, sorry if it seems rushed and whatnot, just had to get it done before people started wondering where the hell it was. Again, if you're among the people who favourited this story before I made changes, then I hope the story will still pique your interest and you'll stick around to see what happens next and whatnot etc, if not, well, feel free to unfavourite like a few other people already have, I won't hold it against you. Anyway, now that this monster's done, I'm gonna get some sleep, I literally spent my entire day playing the damn game and trying to get this done, I'm spent for the day, hope you like it.