"Get away from me! You almost breathed in my face!" A red mare backed away from a smaller white one and snarled viciously. "I love you, but you can be so contagious sometimes!"

"I just wanted to play with you," the white mare whimpered sadly, hanging her head.

The red mare's gaze softened and she walked a bit closer. "I'm sorry for snapping. I just don't need the Pony Plague."

"But I obviously do..."

"Girls," a new voice said in a low and power tone, and a large dark green mare walked towards the two. "Calm down and prepare for your youngest sister's arrival. I have a feeling it's not very good news."

"There's never any good news with those stupid Mytholand ponies," the red pony growled. "They're all kinds of pitiful and stuff. I'm sick of it! I'm almost tempted to start another war between them just for some entertainment!"

"You know you can't do that just yet, War, but in due time you will."

"And I'll be able to spread my plague?" the white pony smiled before coughing harshly, causing War to leap away.

"Yes, Pestilence, you, too."

The three ponies suddenly heard the sound of hooves galloping against the rocky flooring and they all turned to see a dark gray mare approaching them. Once she reached them, she collapsed on her side and wheezed in exhaustion.

"Famine! Are you okay?" Pestilence exclaimed in worry.

"I-I will be..." the youngest mare replied with a gasp. She stood up, her legs trembling in fatigue.

"Do you need some food?" War asked.

"You know I can't eat food..." Famine sighed sadly. "My body isn't used to eating anymore; I'll just throw it right back up..."

"Oh, right..."

"Welcome back, dear sister," the eldest mare said warmly as she hugged her youngest sister. "What did you find?"

"It's terrible, Death," Famine reported with a nervous whimper. "Six ponies from the land of Equestria are in Mytholand now, and they seem to have a magical device of some sort capable of defeating us!"

Pestilence gasped in fright while War snarled furiously. Death, however, remained calm, and she even let out a little chuckle.

"That's what they think," she smirked. "No matter what trick anypony has up their sleeves, nopony can cheat death."

"I overheard that these things are called the Elements of Harmony," the youngest mare continued. "They said they were able to use these to defeat any other villain in their homeland."

"But this isn't their homeland," Death chuckled. "Who's to say their silly little elements will work here? And even if they do, do they really think harmony and friendship will be more powerful than illness, hatred, starvation, and death?"

"That's right!" War bellowed, rearing up on her hind legs and kicking out her forelegs triumphantly. "Nothing's more powerful than the Apocalyptic Sisters!"

"We'll beat those ponies and their silly little charms to the ground!" Pestilence cheered before turning her head away and coughing harshly again.

"Are you sure?" Famine asked nervously.

Death lifted up her sister's head with a hoof and smiled warmly at her. "Don't you worry, dear sister. Those ponies won't succeed. And we'll make sure of that." She trotted over to a jar on a shelf embedded in the wall and picked it up carefully with a hoof. She looked into it and saw the tiny white souls of miserable ponies whose lives she had claimed, and she grinned evilly.

"Pack your saddlebags, girls," she finally said before placing the jar back on the shelf and turning back to the other three ponies. "We're off to pay Mytholand a little visit. We'll show those outsiders not to play around with death."

"Yes!" War exclaimed excitedly. "Finally, I get to drive a rift between ponies again!"

"Should we tamper with the outsiders themselves, or just the residents of Mytholand?" Pestilence asked.

"We'll start with just the residents. We want to give those outsiders a good example of what the Apocalyptic Sisters are really capable of. Famine?" The black mare turned to the green one at the sound of her name. "Were there any other Mytholand ponies with these Equestrian ones?"

"Yes, four of them," she replied. "A gray Sleipnir pony, a pale espony, a blue wisp pony, and a yellow Typhon pony."

"In that case, don't touch them either," Death ordered before grinning evilly. "If these Equestrian ponies do decide to stay, I want to see their pathetic little attempts to defeat us. It'll do for some nice entertainment, don't you agree?"

"Yeah!" War cackled harshly. "Let's go give those ponies another welcome!"

The four sisters packed their saddlebags of the materials they needed to wreak havoc on Mytholand on trotted out of the cave into the darkness.

Author's Note

This is a much shorter chapter than the previous two, but it's just to set up the sisters' attack and to also show their relationships with each other. Despite being such horrible ponies, they still care a lot for each other.