.buck//Moment

It was empty. Applejack waited patiently, waited for something to show up, but nothing did. She stood in an empty room, damaged like the rest of the zone, with odd streaks of code gently drifting by and through her mane. Every time they hit her they fizzled quietly, warming the area they touched.

The other five were spread throughout the room, inspecting it for clues, but all came up dry. A collective sigh of desperation spread between them as they gathered in the centre of the area. The soft pulsing of the bracelet illuminated their faces with an eerie glow, but was mostly ignored.

“Well, doesn't look like there's anything here,” Ardent finally said, scratching her neck idly. Applejack looked around at the group apologetically.

“Sorry y'all, Ah really thought we'd find somethin',” she nervously dug at the ground before she felt a hoof around her neck and looked up into Starlight's face.

“Don't worry, dear. I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of this eventually.” Starlight had a gentle smile on her face as she comforted her.

“Aha! The Mighty Dusk has you now!”

The six paused, turning to the door at the new voice. Standing proudly on her hind legs, forehoof pressed to her chest and cloak billowing in an unseen wind, was a lavender unicorn. She wore an expression of endless confidence as she dropped to all fours and took a step towards the group, who stared back at her. They looked puzzled, aside from Ardent and Party Time, who were annoyed and amused, respectively.

“Just think what the admins will say when they find out you cheated your way to the top!” Dusk continued, “Then Dusk shall be the greatest unicorn once more!”

There was an uncomfortable silence, during which Ardent face-hoofed, and the others looked between themselves, before Applejack spoke.

“Uh, beggin' yer pardon but... what?” she tried her best to sound somewhat willing to listen, but ended up with a tone closer to condescending, which was not lost on the mare before them.

“That unicorn there!” Dusk huffed, pointing a hoof accusingly at Violet, whose eyes went wide as they rapidly darted around. “Has stolen my title. And Dusk shall have it back!”

Violet looked to her companions for a second, taking a step closer. “Um, I'm not entirely sure what you mean.”

Dusk's expression faltered for a moment, before transitioning into faint anger. “What I mean?” She firmly stepped forwards, glaring at Violet. “What I mean?!” Rearing up, her horn glowed with magic, fire appearing in the air around her, orbiting her head. Instantly Applejack and Ardent launched themselves between the two unicorns, facing down the newcomer, weapons ready to be drawn. Dusk merely growled, her eyes never leaving her counterpart. “I was the strongest, most powerful mage in The World, adored by hundreds. And then you show up, become stronger than me, and don't even acknowledge my existence!” She was screaming now, magic surging through her horn.

Violet stepped past the two mares defending her, a crestfallen look on her face. “Wow I... I'm sorry... Dusk is it? I just... I didn't mean to cause any trouble.”

“No. Of course you didn't.” Dusk stared blankly at her for a moment, her magic faltering momentarily before she caught it. “No matter. I will have the last laugh. Dusk will be vic--”

A burst of light filled the room, blinding everypony present as Applejack's bracelet surged into life. Applejack recovered first as the others staggered around frantically, calling out for one another. Gently she tapped them all, letting them know she was there while she scanned the room. As her eyes swept the area she blinked in shock.

“Aura?”

The ghostly white mare hovered just behind them, in the centre of the room. Her mane and robe rustled silently in an inaudible wind as she gently drifted up and down. Entranced, Applejack stepped tentatively closer, her bracelet warming her leg as it pulsed rapidly. She was three steps away when the Aura's eyes shot open, azure eyes casting themselves over her before widening in true terror. Her mouth opened but the voice that rang through all present ponies' heads matched it only in emotion.

“RUN!”

Applejack paused, taking another confident step. “No! Ah need ta know what--”

Her speech was interrupted by a scream that pierced her brain and silenced all thoughts. The mare in front of her arched her back as a thick, blood red spike protruded through her chest. Doubling over, Aura took one last look at her before she dissolved into red spheres of light that gently floated away. Applejack's eyes went wide as she struggled to move, seeing the ragged alicorn floating where the ghost had just been, her ruby spear hovering before her, sheathed in a crimson glow of magic. Its eyes were closed as it froze in apparent concentration.

The balls of light paused in their transit, doubling back and flowing rapidly into the weapon, which pulsed in response until it shone with a dim, malevolent glow. The alicorn opened its eyes, the spear floating to its side. Turning, it began to walk away.

“NO!” Applejack screamed. Instinctively, she thrust the bracelet forwards. It expanded, rotated rapidly, then fired a bright beam of energy. The alicorn caught a glimpse of the oncoming attack, launching itself sideways with more agility than Applejack would expect from a creature that size. Harmlessly, the attack struck the far wall, scorching the stone but otherwise having no effect.

A maniacal grin on its face, the alicorn turned to the blademaster, twirling the spear over its head. The grin doubled in size instantly as it thrust the weapon into the ground, shattering the stone. Cracks spread throughout the room as it fell to pieces around them, dropping the collected ponies into a black abyss. As Applejack fell, she heard the screams of her companions, drowned out rapidly by the insane cackling of the alicorn above.

In free fall, Applejack felt hooves wrap around her and looked up to see Shadowdancer beating her wings roughly. No matter how hard she tried, they continued to fall as fast as before, and soon the pegasus gave up, instead using her flight to drag Applejack to the rest of the group, who were clutching each other for support.

“So,” Starlight yelled over the rushing of air, “anypony got a plan?”

“Absolutely no idea!” Ardent shouted back, glancing at Violet. “Any clue?”

The mare shook her head, trying to keep the fear out of her eyes. It didn't work. “Nothing! Applejack?”

Applejack shrugged. “Nothin'.”

“Great,” the dark pegasus holding her muttered. “You just had to piss off the evil boss monster, didn't you?”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Ah had ta do somethin'. Y'all saw what that thing did t'Aura!” She looked around at her friends, who nodded firmly. Shadow placed a hoof on her shoulder gently.

“I was joking Applejack. Sarcasm.” She was wearing a light smile. “We'll get through this, I'm sure.”

“Uhh guuuuys?” The normally cheery voice of Party was far more severe in tone. “Don't look now but... I think this is our stop.”

The other five immediately looked down, regretting it as they saw the rapidly approaching stone. Clutching each other close, they all closed their eyes.

“Ah'm sorry fer bring--” Applejack began, before finding an armoured hoof on her mouth.

“Hush Applejack. We all agreed to come, and we'll face whatever happens together,” Starlight reassured not just Applejack, but everyone. They nodded in unison as the ground became larger and larger. Static began to flash across their screens more often until it became nothing but pure white and grey. Then they hit the ground.

*****

“Well, that certainly could've been worse,” Starlight mumbled, stretching her back as she picked herself up. Satisfyingly, her bones clicked into place and she let out a small sigh. Around her, the rest of the six did the same, checking themselves and each other for injuries. Remarkably, there were none, even when for all intents and purposes they should've been stains on the rough ground.

Applejack shook her head clear, stars gently fading from her vision, as she took in their new location. Soon, she wished she hadn't, seeing the infinite black void stretching above them. Sickly green clouds swirled around the perimeter, raining forebodingly onto strange, half-completed structures suspended in the air.

The group was located on a large, mostly flat rock, about the size of Ponyville town square. The edges curved up steeply, forming a kind of rudimentary arena, keeping them hemmed in. As the others got to their hooves, a mixture of gasps and disbelieving mutters broke the silence. Even Party Time was floored.

“Where... Where are we?” Violet asked rhetorically, knowing there was no answer. This zone had no connection to any others she'd seen or heard of, and she'd seen everything at some point. At least, as far as she knew, before the last week or so. The rest of the group turned to her in muted shock.

“You mean... You don't know?” Shadow finally whispered, her normally confident facade shattered and her real self showing. Violet shook her head, and it took all of Applejack's concentration not to panic. Instead, she forced herself to look down, away from the chaos surrounding them. The bracelet was still pulsing, less obviously this time, but still there. Silently, she cursed its existence.

A groan from a distance away caused them to seize up, turning to the source. Lying face down, not too far away, was Dusk. Slowly she staggered upright, blinking her eyes open and taking in her surroundings. It took several moments before the sight reached her muddled brain, at which point her eyes grew wide and she began muttering. “Where... Where am I?”

Her gaze fell upon the group, and she began flailing and screaming. “What did you do?! Where am I? I demand you take me back!” She was nearly in tears as she frantically dug through menu after menu, pulling out a golden egg and cracking it open. The dust fell upon her, but nothing happened. “W-why didn't it work? WHY DIDN'T IT WORK?”

Applejack took a step towards her but Starlight was already there, reaching a hoof out to comfort her. The mare batted her away, shaking violently as she staggered backwards. Her magic flared as fire formed around her, congealing into a sphere of flame that orbited her horn. “I demand you take me back!”

Ardent leapt between the two unicorns, holding her hooves up in surrender, staring intently at Dusk. “Whoa, calm down. We don't have any idea either, but we'll get you home, okay?” She forced a light, caring smile.

The panicking unicorn's breathing sped up as she shook her head, the magic intensifying. Her eyes narrowed in rage as she screamed. “Take me back NOW!” The fireball rocketed towards Ardent, striking her across the cheek. She recoiled, holding the burned skin and wincing as she pulled out a healing potion and downed it. Her skin quickly recovered and she returned to her previous position, glaring at her attacker. She made to speak before a dark blur slammed into Dusk, knocking her to the ground.

“What do you think you're doing?!” Shadow yelled at the pinned unicorn, slamming a hoof into the ground by her head. Dusk flinched momentarily at the blow before she forced her hooves into the rogue's chest, throwing her off and leaping back. Channelling her magic, she summoned another fireball, sending it in her direction. Shadow rolled, springing into the air over the attack, blades extending. Diving, she ducked under another fireball before slamming her hoof into the mage's neck, sending her reeling. Forcing her down again, she shoved a blade to her throat, pressing uncomfortably as Dusk writhed underneath her.

“We are trying to help you,” Shadow spat, anger filling her eyes. “Attacking us would be a very bad idea.”

Dusk looked up at her, eyes brimming with equal rage. “I could kill you with a single thought.” Shadow cocked an eyebrow, then grinned evilly.

“I'd like to see you try.”

The mage's horn surged with magic, but she faltered as she caught Shadow's look. Her body collapsed, mind lost, her magic dissipating harmlessly as she helplessly babbled at that heartless glare. Shaking her head rapidly she tried to break it, but couldn't look away no matter how hard she tried. Shadow's grin widened as she stepped off her, never breaking the Stare.

“Now, you're going to sit here like a good little filly while we sort this out. Understand?”

Dusk whimpered, nodding her head. Shadow gave one last look before nicking the side of her neck with a blade, not enough to cause any major damage, but enough to be felt. She broke the look, confidently trotting over to her gob-smacked group. Behind her, Dusk sat up, refusing to look at anything but the ground as she remained completely still.

“Wow Shadow that was uh... somethin',” Applejack continued to stare at the pacified unicorn as she strutted past.

“Mm? Oh, well she was being unruly, and I thought we'd concentrate better without her interference,” she said dismissively, waving a hoof in Dusk's general direction. Standing in between all her friends, she gave them a look. “Well, any ideas?”

It took a few seconds before most of them could tear their eyes from her previous display, focusing on her now. A chorus of “no”s and shaking heads made her sigh. “So now what?”

Applejack looked down at the bracelet again, muttering. “This's got somethin' t' do with it, Ah reckon.”

“Great,” Shadow gestured to her. “So use it then.”

Applejack looked away shyly. “Ah can't.”

“Right. Wonderful.”

Discussion continued for several minutes while they tried to think of some kind of solution, but nothing presented itself. None of their 'escape dungeon' items worked, and they couldn't gate out. Violet hypothesised this may be due to the fact the game was listing their locations as 'UNKNOWN'.

They instead ended up sitting in a group, chatting and trying to distract themselves. Ardent suggested using the emergency release on the headset to quit, but Violet pointed out that it could permanently corrupt their characters if the game didn't even know where they were. Better off they just wait it out. Silence fell on the group for a while afterwards.

Applejack jumped along with the others as the quiet was shattered by an ear-piercing scream from Starlight. Glaring up at her while covering her ears, she noticed her pointing a hoof in the distance. Curious, and a little scared, she turned her head, instantly jumping up and shouting as she spotted the trigger for her friend's scream.

“Dusk! Get back!”

The mage in question looked up, her head tilted in confusion, then her mouth fell open in a silent scream. Looking down, she saw the red point of the spear protruding through her chest before her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp. Roughly, the alicorn tore spear from the unicorn's back, letting the body fall lifelessly to the ground. Looking up at the group of mares charging it, it grinned, twirling the ruby weapon effortlessly and adopting a fighting stance.

Applejack's view filled with red as she rushed blindly forwards, sword drawn. Behind her the others followed suit, drawing their own weapons and charging on. She screamed as she leapt into the air, pulling her foreleg back. Time slowed as the bracelet extended, activating. Slowly it rotated, and she glared at the alicorn, throwing her leg forwards.

“FOR DU--” She stopped short as met the monster's glare. It's eyes drilled into her soul, and she felt like she'd slammed into a brick wall. The bracelet activated, beams of energy lancing across, but without her focus they split, dispersing and striking the ground around her target, scorching but otherwise dealing no damage. Applejack fell like a stone, unable to move as she crashed to the ground helplessly. The alicorn advanced, a violent but somehow familiar grin on its face as it raised the spear above its head.

“NO!” an armoured winged form smashed into the spear, knocking it off course as it pierced the ground just in front of Applejack's muzzle. Tutting, the alicorn looked upwards to see Ardent diving it once more, oversized blade whistling through the air. Pulling the spear free, the monster jumped back, barely dodging the dive. Undettered, Ardent propelled herself off the ground, swinging her sword at the alicorn, who blocked the attack effortlessly. Spinning the weapon, it struck her head with the shaft, knocking her away. Ardent staggered back, trying to regain her footing when she felt a searing pain as the spear was driven through her neck. Applejack couldn't even move her mouth to scream her name as her friend fell dead to the floor.

A bright light blinded her momentarily as the corpse glowed with golden energy, and after a few seconds Ardent picked herself up, breathing heavily for a few moments as she nodded over Applejack.

“Thanks Vi. Could you help Applejack?”

Murmurs of approval nearby told her Violet's position. A hoof ran across her back as she spoke. “Applejack, can you get up?”

Barely, she managed to get the word 'no' out through her frozen muzzle. Violet's face appeared in her view, clear worry being the dominant expression. “I can't help you, Applejack, I'm sorry you... You don't have anything wrong with you...” she looked away, unsure, then yelped and leapt away, landing roughly as Party Time's body slammed into the ground where she just stood. Slowly, she stood up, a look of grim determination on her face as she sheathed her scythe and let the cannon on her foreleg extend. Glancing once at Applejack, she nodded before diving back into the fight. Violet galloped over, placing a hoof gently on Applejack's cheek and apologising again before she hopped away, charging into the fight occurring in the distance, her horn glowing with magic.

Applejack watched her friends fight the alicorn valiantly. It was currently locked in a duel of sorts with Ardent as the two blocked each other's strikes with their weapons, but the monster was nimble, dodging shots from Party Time and fireballs from Twilight as they rained in. Shadowdancer came up behind the creature while it was occupied, slamming her blades into its flanks. To her horror, they simply glanced of its skin, barely grazing it, as the alicorn kicked, sending her flying backwards and landing in a heap. Starlight leapt in, delivering a powerful punch to its other flank, a shockwave rippling out. In response, the alicorn twisted, blocking Ardent's latest strike and slamming the spear into its newest attacker in one smooth movement, launching Starlight away.

Violet ran over to the two mares, handing them healing potions and getting them back up, before focusing her magic. “PhaVak Rom!” she screamed, her eyes glowing brighter than her horn as a massive firestorm engulfed the creature, wrapping it in an intense inferno. Disappearing from vision in a wreath of flame, the group paused, waiting for the smoke to clear.

A lance of ruby arced through the air, spearing Violet through the head, ending the spell instantly as she fell. A flash denoted Starlight rushing over and reviving her, while the other three watched in horror as the alicorn absent-mindedly pulled the spear back to itself, twirling it with a malevolent grin on its face. Party Time growled, snapping her cannon back into her leg and drawing her scythe, charging the creature simultaneously with Ardent and Shadow. The monster looked between them nonchalantly, its grin widening as it drove the spear into the ground. As the three neared, time appeared to stop as it spread its wings and rocketed into the air before diving rapidly to the ground, a massive white shockwave expanding from where its hooves hit, striking them and knocking them all back.

Party's growling became louder as she forced herself up, charging again. “Reaper's Touch!” she screamed monstrously, sounding more like an animal than a pony. Her scythe was met with the alicorn's weapon, who blocked each rapid strike effortlessly, endlessly grinning, infuriating the reaper, whose strikes became more and more vicious. After a few dozen trades, the monster huffed, almost as though it were bored, blocking another strike and snapping the spear upwards, striking Party Time on the chin and throwing her back. She landed hard, no longer moving. Turning around, the alicorn faced the rest, spear ready by its side.

Violet stepped up, wobbling slightly as she focused. “PhaRue Kruz! OrGan Zot! PhaVak Don!” she shouted in rapid succession, and Applejack watched with wonder as her magic surged. The alicorn was immediately surrounded by a cluster of large shards of ice which orbited around it. Eyeing them cautiously, it looked up to see more magic congealing above it into a massive orb of fire, then shook as the ground beneath it rumbled forebodingly. All at once, the spells fired; the frozen crystals rapidly accelerating and slamming into the monster's head as the fireball descended and split into several smaller spheres that rained destruction onto and around it. Barely through the smoke, she could make out a massive spear of rock launch itself from the ground, the alicorn bursting from the cloud on ragged wings, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Insane laughter rang out as the creature descended, diving at Violet. The unicorn barely had time to react, screwing her eyes shut when she was suddenly thrown sideways by Ardent plowing into her at high speed, barely getting her out of the way as the alicorn slammed its hooves into the ground, leaving sizeable craters behind. Tutting, it whirled on the two as they struggled to get up, pulling its spear to its side and thrusting it at them. The ruby shot through Ardent's spine, piercing her chest and continuing into Violet, pinning the two ponies together as they tumbled out of control.

Cackling madly, the monster was taken by surprise when a hoof smashed into its cheek as Starlight sailed past. Looking more taken aback than actually injured, the alicorn grinned as it used its magic to press the spear further into the pinned mares, up to the ring, bonding them to the ground. Their screams filled the ears of the rest of the group, Shadowdancer rushing over and attempting to free them, but the weapon held fast, leaving the two trapped. The monster grinned at Starlight's look of horror, twisting the spear in its magic, earning more ear-splitting screams as Shadow desperately fed them healing potions to keep them alive.

A look of determination flashed across Starlight's face as she charged at her opponent, who viewed her with a look of disbelief. It smirked, charging to meet her, but as they were about to collide, Starlight slid underneath, delivering a powerful buck to its hind legs, causing it to stumble. As it wheeled around, a bolt of lightning blasted its face, and it turned to growl at Party Time, standing nearby with her cannon smoking. She fired again and again, letting off shot after shot, but just seemed to aggravate the alicorn as it was enshrouded in a thick layer of smoke. Party, however, didn't stop firing, her ceaseless assault resulting in vague flashes of light from within the cloud as bolts struck her target.

A strong wind suddenly buffeted Starlight, throwing her off balance as the monster beat its powerful wings. The smoke wrapped itself around the unicorn, causing her to cough as she was blinded, tears streaming from her eyes. Barely she heard shouts and powerful hoofsteps, but was unable to react when the alicorn slammed a powerful hoof into her chin, sending her reeling out of the cloud. Tripping, she fell, almost getting to a healing potion when she felt a strong hoof come down on the back of her neck, the sick crunch of bone accompanying the numbness that filled her body below her neck, barely giving her time to even whimper.

Satisfied she was no longer a threat, the alicorn turned as another bolt of lightning struck its cheek. Grimacing, it lowered its stance, ready to pounce as it spread its wings wide, hardly flinching from Party's relentless cannon fire. Instead, it tensed up, crouching, then launched itself at her, who swiftly ducked, dodging the blow as she fired into its chest. The alicorn ignored the shots, flapping its massive wings to turn, rocketing towards Party rapidly. Focusing, she drew her scythe as the cannon collapsed, bracing herself. As the monster reached her she blocked, using her weapon to soften the blow. Even then, the force of the attack pushed her back several feet, leaving trails in the rock. The two grinned at each other, faces locked in a desperate struggle.

Suddenly the alicorn relented, releasing the pressure. Without anything to press against Party felt herself fall forwards as the creature stepped aside, slamming a hoof into her cheek with enough force to send her careening across the battlefield, bouncing along the ground. When she eventually came to a stop, she was completely still save for laboured breathing, her face deformed around a hoofprint that took up half of its surface.

The alicorn surveyed the battlefield, smiling maliciously as it approached Shadow, the only pony still able to fight. She was desperately trying to keep Ardent and Violet calm, having at least made them stop screaming, but she was otherwise unable to help. The shadow of the monster overtook her, and she stared up into its eyes, brimming with tears.

“You... How dare you? How--” she stopped short, eyes growing wide as her will was sapped under its withering stare. Blinking rapidly, she forced back with a stare of her own, but could feel the sweat dripping down her forehead. She was losing this battle rapidly, her concentration thrown off as her own trump card was thrown against her. Her mind worked a million miles a minute as she frantically tried to come up with something. It was failing.

Applejack watched helplessly as Shadow's will visibly cracked, her facade all but shattered as she was nearly driven to tears as the alicorn beared down on her, a sick, twisted grin on its muzzle. Tears streamed down her face as she wished desperately for the bracelet to do something.

“No, Ah need t' do somethin'” she thought. Focusing her mind, she blocked out everything. Her friends needed her, right now. And Celestia darn it she was going to help them. Gradually, she felt sensation return to her limbs, first her legs, then slowly the rest of her body. Forcing herself up, she blinked, turning her attention to the battle of wills occurring a short distance away. Feeling fully returned, she glanced down at the pulsing bracelet. Retrieving her sword, she charged at the alicorn, screaming.

“Get away from her!”

For a brief moment, the alicorn looked surprised as Applejack leapt at her, breaking the stare. Quickly recovering, it stepped aside as she passed, swinging a hoof down onto her back. Applejack collapsed to the ground, barely alive. Glaring at the monster, she willed herself upright against the protests of her body. The alicorn watched with curiosity as the beaten mare stood against her, and grinned, sharp teeth showing as it roared, swinging its hooves down. Applejack ducked to the side, barely dodging the attack as she shouted to the still quivering pegasus beside her.

“Shadow!” Her eyes snapped up to Applejack. “Heal Starlight and Party. We need 'em up.” Shadow blinked back tears as she nodded, launching herself haphazardly into the air. A rush of wind rustled her mane, and she glanced back to see the alicorn preparing to take flight after her. “Oh no ya don't!” she growled, leaping up and grabbing onto one of its hind legs as it flew over. The sudden change in weight threw it off, and it tumbled awkwardly, crashing to the ground. Applejack rolled several times, red seeping into the edges of her vision as she groaned, lifting her head up. The alicorn was already upright, giving chase to Shadow again, but the pegasus had already healed Starlight and was moving on to Party. Starlight engaged the monster in combat, keeping its attention off Shadowdancer as she revived the reaper, who hopped upright, grinning widely as she felt her cheek pop back to its normal shape.

A pulse of warmth shot up Applejack's leg, and she looked down to see the bracelet. Grinning, she aimed it at the monster, the crystalline structure humming as it spun. Energy arced through it as she prepared to fire.

The alicorn glanced up, spotting her charging her attack, and responded with an intense glare. Applejack fumbled as her thoughts ground to a halt, the bracelet firing wild beams of energy around the creature, missing entirely. This time, however, she shrugged off the paralysing effect and let the bracelet charge again while the monster duelled with Starlight. It slammed her backwards, staring again at Applejack momentarily, stopping her in her tracks. Repeatedly it interrupted her attack, and she ground her teeth in frustration. She needed some way of stopping it from interrupting her.

An idea popped into her head, and she paused as she mulled it over for several seconds. “That's insane,” she muttered to herself. Staring intently at the monster, she watched as it retrieved its spear from the earth to fight Party and Shadow, wincing as the two now free mares screamed in newfound agony. Starlight was there though, handing healing potions out and getting them to their feet. Soon the alicorn was deflecting Ardent's blows while dodging Violet's magic. Applejack grinned. “Perfect.”

Sheathing her sword, she let the bracelet charge with power, extending into the firing position. Instead of aiming though, she galloped straight at the alicorn, keeping her eyes averted as much as possible. Not sensing the threat, the monster continued to fight with Ardent, repeatedly blocking and retaliating with her spear, beating her to a pulp as she was constantly topped up on healing potions by the others. Applejack got into range, then leapt at the creature's neck, wrapping her hooves around it.

Shocked, the alicorn writhed, trying to throw her off, but Applejack held on, gripping more tightly. Pressing the bracelet to the creature's chest, she grinned, looking it dead in the eye.

“Dodge this.”

The world exploded as the bracelet fired. The two figures were wrapped in green and blue energy as the wild beams converged on the creatures chest, blasting it. Applejack screamed in pain as her body was consumed by raging power, static filling her sight and drowning out sound.

Then everything stopped. Applejack still felt the searing agony, but nothing new happened. She was deaf and blind, unable to move as the world froze. It may have lasted hours or seconds, but that was beyond her mind at that moment. She would've clenched her eyes and jaw shut to numb the feeling if she could.

Rapidly time resumed, and Applejack found herself flying through the air again, but this time felt gentle, firm hooves catch her instead of the cold ground. Still writhing, she felt the searing pain subside over the next few seconds, and cracked an eye open. The bracelet was rapidly oscillating, code tearing off the twitching alicorn. Its pale yellow skin was torn away, revealing an ugly, rough stone beneath. Streams of data surged into the bracelet, and Applejack felt herself rejuvenated as she was placed gently to the ground. Unable to take her eyes off of the monster, she mumbled a thanks to her saviour, watching with wild eyes as it screamed. Its face was gone, replaced with that featureless rock, the rest of its body following suit. Several tense seconds passed as the last patches of skin were gone, and the alicorn suddenly snapped to a neutral position, all four hooves on the ground, straight posture, looking dead ahead. The following silence lasted an age as nopony dared to move, when it was broken by a deafening crash as the alicorn's horn and wings shattered, the remains clattering to the floor and vanishing. The ruby spear fell to the ground, rolling to a stop a short distance away at Party's hooves.

The six looked to one another, a nervous laugh coming from Violet. Then the others joined in, and soon they were all barely upright as they laughed heartily, clutching to each other for support. Applejack properly thanked Ardent for catching her, earning a ruffle of her hair from the blushing pegasus while Starlight handed healing items around the group, topping everyone up.

As they recovered, a roar pierced the veil of victory they'd built, and the six turned to the stone alicorn. It sat motionless for several seconds before suddenly propelling itself into Violet, slamming her backwards a long distance. As the others cried out, it wheeled around, headbutting Party Time, who barely got her scythe drawn before she was sent flying. Starlight rushed to Violet while Shadow rushed to Party. Both mares were heavily injured but alive, enough for a healing potion to bring them back.

Applejack and Ardent stood side by side, weapons drawn as they faced down the empty statue that slowly advanced on them. Its pace increased as it let out a guttural roar, charging the two ponies. They split, diving in opposite directions away from it and driving their weapons along its flanks as it passed, leaving deep cracks. Undaunted, it spun around, charging at Applejack, who barely had time to react before it was on top of her. Slamming a hoof into the side of her head, it pummelled her into the ground relentlessly, roaring constantly, until Ardent's heavy form slammed it aside, knocking it away. It stumbled, turning to face its new attacker, then charged again.

A storm broke out above the creature as Violet channelled her magic, massive bolts of lightning descending from the sky and arcing across its face, but it just kept going. The storm intensified, the rock beginning to glow red as the heat seared it. A powerful bolt of colourful lightning struck its leg, interrupting its charge as it stumbled, tripping. Lightning continued to blast its face as it tried to catch Ardent, who kept dodging away, keeping its attention. A heavy hoof slammed into the side of its face, dislodging some of the stone with a loud CRACK, and the once-alicorn whirled around, trying to face its new attacker, who was even more nimble than the last.

As soon as its attention was off her, Ardent dived forwards, smashing her blade into its foreleg, detaching it. Crashing to the ground, it let out a low, devastating roar that echoed through the arena, shaking Applejack to her core. Gritting her teeth against the sound, she forced herself up, picking up her sword and charging the creature. Deftly she leapt underneath it, striking at its two hind legs and leaving sizeable clefts just beneath its knees. Behind her she heard the rushing of air followed by two sharp cuts as Shadow flew in and followed up, deepening the wounds. Applejack turned in time to see its hind legs fail and the creature fall helplessly to the ground, feebly flailing its one remaining limb in the direction of the still dodging Starlight.

It roared loudly when a loud crack and slash of steel on stone interrupted it as Shadowdancer landed on its head, driving her blades into its skull. Repeatedly she stabbed, a tranquil fury in her eyes as she dug deeper. Finally the creature's roars ceased as golden light erupted from the hole in its head, surging into the sky. The six ponies gathered around their fallen opponent, nervously keeping their eyes on it and their weapons drawn when a message flashed up on all their screens.

4491 Experience Gained!

All of the ponies were surrounded in a rush of light, looking around in confusion. “Did we just level up?” Violet asked, half curious and half worried. Applejack brought up her character menu, revealing that she had, indeed levelled up. Four times.

“Uh, Vi, Ah thought ya said Ah can only level up once per bad guy.”

Violet looked at her in confusion. “Yes, that's true.”

“So, why've Ah gained four levels?”

At once they all checked their respective character menus, eyes wide when they all confirmed that they'd all gained four levels. “Huh,” was Violet's only response. “That's new.”

Violently the zone rocked, and the six looked around in horror as the zone around them began to darken, fading away into non-existence. The distant islands dispersed into golden light, but before they could even think to scream or run, they found themselves hurtling through a tunnel of static again.

This journey was far shorter than the others as they collapsed in a heap on stone cobbles. Applejack rubbed her head, inspecting her surroundings. She was lying on cold stone in what appeared to be Mac Anu during night. She would've sighed in relief if the heavy weight on her back didn't restrict her breathing that much, and she gently prodded the mare lying on her with a free hoof. A grunt later, Ardent rolled off, and helped her and the rest up.

“So, we're back here, huh?” Ardent commented, staring across the waterline. “Just like nothing happened.”

“Appears so, darling.” Starlight stood beside her, breathing in the sea air in relief.

Party Time, Shadow and Violet were soon standing with them, staring out into the distance. Applejack began to trot over when she tripped, sprawling on the top of the stairs. Cursing, she turned to see what had caused her fall, but her breath stopped short and her eyes grew wide. At her reaction, the rest of her friends followed her gaze, a mix of gasps and mutters erupting from them.

Lying just in front of the Chaos Gate was Dusk Glimmer's corpse.