It became too much for poor Fluttershy. She fainted on the spot. "Fluttershy!" The rest of the mane five shouted before rushing to her limp body. Twilight kneeled down and checked Fluttershy's pulse. "Thank goodness, she's okay," Twilight said relieved.

"Aww, poor little thing is scared of us. She should be. She's lucky to be unconcious. Then she won't have to witness what happens now. Take them outside!" the Darkness commanded the timberwolves.

The timberwolves led them to the top of the staircase, exept for Zecora. The Darkness carried her personally in their hands. Even though she was struggling against the Darkness' grip, she couldn't get free no matter how hard she tried. With Fluttershy on her back, Twilight tried to think of a plan.

maybe, if I distract them, I can destroy the timberwolves. But the wolves regenerate, and the Darkness would find out immeadiately.

The elements are useless, and I can't send a letter to Celestia. Maybe if I blast them... No, the timberwolves would attack without warning before I would be able to even conjure a spell... What am I going to do?

"psst, Twilight. How are we going to get away?" Rarity whispered.

"I don't know. Anything I can think of is impossible to pull off," Twilight whispered back.

"I see. Not to worry, darling. I have a plan," Rarity said. Twilight decided to let Rarity try. Rarity started to approach the Darkness as close as she could, and started talking. "Excuse me, oh great Darkness, but where are we going exactly?" She asked.

"You'll see," the Darkness answered bluntly.

"Ok, but, why do you keep us alive? I mean, you are so powerful, you could easily kill us," Rarity asked, less confident this time.

"Stop asking questions, and I may answer later."

Rarity slowed her pace to talk to Twilight. "Well that didn't work," Rarity said. "I'm sorry Twilight. I didn't accomplish anything."

"It's alright. We'll figure something out," Twilight reassured her.

"Wait, why are we at this hill?" Twilight wondered. They stood on.
A tall hill without any trees, with a wiev of the forest around them.

"Um, gals, whatever you do, don't turn around," Applejack said. But they did.

Ponyville was in flames.

"no," Twilight whispered. Everything from sweet apple acres to the castle was burning. Parts of Everfree forest caught fire as well.

"Why? Why did you do this?" Rainbow dash demanded.

"since you fled like cowards, I proceeded to destroy your homes. It seemed like a perfect punishment for running away. Even if somepony survives, they will be hunted down by my servants," the Darkness said.

The moment they said 'servants' the mane four saw timberwolves, manticores and hydras in the streets. Rarity gasped in horror as she saw a pack of timberwolves munching on what used to be a filly. When Twilight looked closer, she noticed it was Sweetie Belle. Applejack gave Rarity a comforting hug. Rarity's mascara was running.

Twilight felt sick. This wasn't right. Surely the princesses would do something.

She put fluttershy on the ground. She was still unconcious. "Now I understand what the Darkness meant by her being lucky to have passed out," she said to herself.

Rainbow Dash didn't move. She was just watching the horrible scene. Twilight creeped closer. As she approached, she heard Rainbow mutter: "Come on, you can do it. Don't give up, squirt. Go faster." Twilight looked at what Rainbow was seeing. Scootaloo was running away from a manticore.

Rainbow continued to cheer her on, but the manticore was faster. Rainbow shrieked as the manticore grabbed Scootaloo, tearing her apart limb for limb. A heartbreaking scream was heard from the poor filly, blood gushing out from where her hooves used to be. With a sickening crunch, her screaming stopped. The manticore had eaten her head.

The Darkness laughed.

"See what happens when you run away from fate? Those letters I sent had a secret message. Let me show you," the Darkness said. He took out a note with the familiar words. As always it stood You can't run.

But as they looked closely, the words changed. Now it stood:

Stay put and die quickly. Run away, and let everypony die.

"We thought someone as smart as you, princess, would try a decoding spell. If you did, the message would appear. When you had your slumber party, we hoped you had figured it out and decided to stay put. But you only thought of being heroic, and it cost the life of so many innocent. Oh, the irony! You tried to protect these ponies, but instead, you doomed them!"

"Why did you bring us here? To spite us? Are you going to laugh at our misery all night? Why didn't you just kill us? Then we wouldn't live with our guilt," Twilight said through gritted teeth.
The Darkness grinned.

"We'll tell you why. Right now, we can only possess other creatures. But our presence in their body shortens their lifespan. You remember Pinkie, right? While we possessed her, her body fell apart. We had to use alot of our magic to keep it together. It didn't help that she was dead. If she was alive while we possessed her, her body would have lasted longer.

"Now, this body is different. A dragon can live for thousands of years, so it lasts longer than a pony host. But this body will begin to fall apart soon. That is where you come in. With the elements of harmony inside you, that power can give us a body. But since Pinkie died, we will have to use the last member of the zebra clan. This hill is the ideal spot to do the ritual. The ritual requires live ponies, since your souls and the power of the elements will be absorbed. Now, we are done talking. Let us start."

The Darkness used a claw to draw a pentagram on the ground. It resembled a circle with smaller circles in it, with a star with six spikes in the middle. The timberwolves forced them into the cirlces, and the Darkness placed Zecora in the center. The pentagram started glowing, and everything went dark.

***

Twilight woke up in a dark place. There was nothing there. She walked for what seemed like an eternity, but it seemed she wasn't progressing at all. Suddenly, she heard giggling. "Hello? Is somepony here?" No answer but continued laughing. Twilight decided to walk towards the sound. As she came closer, the laughter got louder and more sinister. Soon, it turned psychopathic. But Twilight kept going closer. She noticed it wasn't one pony laughing. It was a cluster of voices. Some laughing, some screaming, some crying. Still, she kept going.

As she approached she felt very light-headed. She felt a urge to join the voices. She bent her head down and noticed something terrifying. She was slowly dissapearing. Her fur, her cutie mark, her mane and tail, all gone. She wanted it to stop, but the voices were so inviting. She couldn't stop walking if she wanted to. She had no control of her hooves.

She watched as her wings lost their feathers, leaving only skin. The skin started to rot, leaving only bones. The bones turned to dust and dissapeared in the void. A prickling sensation on her forehead made her look at her horn. It was cracking up, tiny fragments flying in the distance, until there was nothing left.

Then she realised what was going on. The Darkness had taken her soul. It was now stealing her identity. Her hooves became black, like they were stuck in tar. It felt that way too. She couldn't move.

I have to stay focused, I can't let this happen. she thought to herself. She kept focusing on her friends' faces as the dark grew to her waist.

Focus, Twilight, focus! As long as I remember Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Fluttershy, I'll be okay. Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Flutter... Flutter... Fluttersong, that must be it! Why did I struggle remembering that? Anyway, keep focusing on Rainbow, Applejack, Rar... Rar... Raretime, Pinkie and Fluttersong. Rainbow, Apple... Come on! I know it is something with apple and ends with 'ack'... Apple...Smack? Why do I keep forgetting this? I have to stay focused!

Rain...blow? Apple...black? Rare...tey? Pink...lady? Flutter...butter?

GAAAAH! I can't remember! I know I know these ponies, but who are they?

Twilight thought. The dark spread from her plot, over her back and was now at her neck.

The voices were all laughing, mocking her. Her memories slipped away in front of her, teasing her. Whenever she tried to grasp a memory, it dissapeared instantly.

Every accomplishment, every happy moment, everything abandoned her, leaving only her emotions. The dark was reaching her eyes, growing rapidly. Finally, it consumed her.

So this is how it feels to die. No, not die. I am still here. With everyone else. They all have such beautiful laughs. I wanna laugh with them. What are they laughing about?

She opened her eyes, accompanied by so many others. She saw a wasteland full of monsters hunting ponies. She couldn't help but laugh. Now she understood the joke.

Such pathetic ponies. Don't they know they can't run?

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed the final chapter. Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.