Night Shift - Sacred and Wild

Chapters

Part 2: Army of the Night
Part 4: Wolves Against the World
Part 1: Call of the Wild
Part 3: Blessed and Possessed

Part 2: Army of the Night

With a rough plan set in motion, Fluttershy sat and watched Trixie carefully slide a volatile combination of two dozen silver bolts and arcane bombs into her magic hat.

By contrast, Fluttershy remained unarmed, save for the single potion which was her responsibility to administer. That is, if Applejack cooperated. Staring at the magical medicine she held in her hooves, Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder about the many potential outcomes of the encounter to come. Clutching the bottle tight in her hooves, she gazed out of a window to the night sky above.

Part of her wanted to hope with all her heart that Applejack would still be sane enough to take the potion without forceful restraint. Alas, she knew that, realistically, the chances of an easy rescue were slim. If what Trixie taught her about werewolf psychology was correct, it would be almost guaranteed she would have to use a more... unpleasant method.

A silver stake, still laying on the floor where Trixie left it. Despite knowing it was to be a last resort, the thought of her having to end the life of one of her oldest friends, it was almost too much for her to even imagine.

“Hey, you ready yet, Butter-shy?”

Silent, Fluttershy picked up the weapon, sheathing it under her wing. It was hard to stop the little voice in the back of her mind from worrying. But this time, she wouldn't let her timid nature rule over her. If she was to save Applejack, she would have to fight tooth and nail to free her from the lycanthropic curse. And if that meant ending her life, then that is what she would do.

“You know this is for the best, right Fluttershy?” Trixie’s emotionless tone brought Fluttershy’s attention back down to earth. “I assure you, it will be a better fate than allowing her to live in that ravenous lunar spell.”

Looking up, Fluttershy observed Trixie fiddling with a humongous padlock, held in place by several thick chains criss-crossing the wagon's door.

“That’s a little excessive, isn’t it?” Fluttershy queried.

“Trixie lives in trans-dimensional wagon filled with weapons and magic potions,” Trixie retorted. “Given Trixie’s recent popularity surge among Ponyville citizens? There can be no such thing as excessive security.”

“Point taken.”

“So, now that we’ve agreed on the obvious, are you ready yet?”

“Almost.”

Looking back at her cottage, Fluttershy waved her hoof at Pinkie Pie, who had just shown up out of the blue as she was pondering who could babysit the animals in her absence.With a sleeping Angel Bunny draped over Pinkie’s shoulder like a newborn filly, Fluttershy could breathe a sigh of relief knowing animal friends would remain in safe hooves.

“How much does Pinkie know?” Trixie queried. “Normally ponies would give you one look at your—ahem— ‘unique’ appearance before running off in fright.”

“It’s quite alright,” Fluttershy answered with a small giggle. “I didn't need to tell Pinkie anything; she already knows about Applejack's rescue mission, so I think she's already figured out the rest.”

“What... how?!” Trixie stammered, her eye twitching as her mouth hung agape.

Fluttershy shrugged. “She had a hunch.”

“Ugh!” Trixie groaned, rubbing her aching temple with her hooves. “Trixie is so getting fired if Princess Luna gets word of this.”

“Oh, there's no need to worry!” Pinkie exclaimed, having somehow appeared behind Trixie without her noticing. “I already made a Pinkie promise to Luna that I won't tell anypony who doesn't already know. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

After she followed up her extravagant gestures by literally sticking a cupcake in her eye, Trixie let out a deep, frustrated sigh and accepted that questioning Pinkie Pie's logic was simply not worth the effort.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, holding her hoof to her lips, trying to conceal her laughter at Trixie's reaction. “Did you see my note about Angel's Thursday routine?”

“Yep-sir-ree-bob!” Pinkie chirped. “Cabbage for breakfast, bath at eleven, vet check-up at one with carrot treats, then super-special-pinkie-brand-carrot cake in the evening if he's been good! You don’t need to worry your Flutter-batsy little head about.”

Fluttershy laughed again, thankful for the small relief from her persistent worries. “Okay, I'm ready now, Trixie.”

“At last,” Trixie groaned, rolling her eyes. “Well hurry up then, my batty pupil. Trixie has something quite important to show you!”

She produced a small, silver compass from her cloak pocket and presented it on an outstretched hoof, head held high. “This a very special device of Trixie's own creation! It is a-”

“Compass calibrated to point to the strongest source of wild magic which just so happens to be werewolves?”

Trixie shot Pinkie a resentful glare, her thunder having yet again been stolen.

“Oops, sorry,” Pinkie said with an awkward grin, before whisking herself back to the cottage.

“As I was saying, Trixie knows the look of wild magic anywhere. So, this will be the perfect tool to find Applejack with.”

Fluttershy's eyes went wide as the compass needle swung into a wild spin, switching directions seemingly on a whim. Eventually the needle settled on a north-westerly position, pointing directly into the heart of the forest.

“Aha! It looks like Trixie's device has given her a strong lead already. Shall we go?”

Fluttershy nodded. No matter how many times she ventured into the Everfree, the unpleasant atmosphere of the place never seemed to wane. Even if she was to overlook the constant darkness and twisted trees—gazing over explorers with their frightening visage – there was always a consistent sense of dread and wrongness that followed ponies everywhere.

With the menacing flora being so dense, it was impossible to know what was lurking in the shadows not ten feet beyond one’s current line of sight. The slightest breeze was enough to send a shiver down Fluttershy’s spine, though she did her best to ignore it.

As much as Trixie tried to appear confident, Fluttershy knew that she too was paying close attention to every step she took. Only a fool would drop their guard in a place like this, and as egotistical as Trixie was, she was far from a fool. She knew how to keep her vigilance subtle, flicking her eyes between select points with short glances that would only be noticed by those who would be looking directly at her.

Fluttershy caught herself thinking about the claw marks again. She couldn't stop thinking about the size of them, the force behind them, the force that had buckled the tree to one side. The way Applejack's eyes lingered on them, eyes hard, jaw clenched.

She shook her head – she was sure everything all turn out alright. Wasn't she? She didn’t have time to think about it. She needed to find Applejack.

Navigation was tough enough already, even with a magic compass to help. It was nearly impossible to judge how much time passed while in the Everfree. One could spend days, or even weeks at a time without seeing a single sunrise.

“Aha!” Trixie exclaimed, after what Fluttershy guessed to be around forty minutes of travel. “Trixie has found a clue!”

Sprawled out at the foot of a withered tree, a severely injured timber wolf lay still – its slow rate of breath being the only indication it was still alive. Peering up at the two approaching ponies, it to forced out a barely audible growl, a feeble attempt at self-defence in such a weakened state.

“Oh, my goodness!” Fluttershy gasped, seeing the severity of the wound. The timber wolf had a massive gash torn out of its side, its wooden skin peeling back like a carpenter’s shaving, a pool of sticky green blood seeping out of it. “You unfortunate thing, what did this to you?”

“Be careful Fluttershy, this could easily be a trap,” Trixie warned, keeping her eye on the fallen beast for the slightest movement. “And even if it isn’t, a timber wolf’s jaws can slice a pony in two.”

“I've seen animal traps before, Trixie. By the look of the cut, whatever hurt it is long gone.”

“Well whatever the case, Trixie is not going anywhere near such avoidable dangers! She needs to save her magic for bigger foes, and she also recommends that you do the same.”

“Trixie!” Fluttershy protested, “I can’t leave an animal in pain like this. Maybe it'll know something about where Applejack went. Please let me talk to it, I promise it won’t take long.”

“Fine!” Trixie groaned, turning away from Fluttershy in a huff. “Just be quick about it, before Trixie changes her mind.”

“There-there big wolfie, I’m not going to hurt you,” Fluttershy said, the softness of her voice helping to sooth some of the animal's pain. Gently stroking its head with one hoof, Fluttershy carefully examined the severity of the wound. Her prognosis was not good. The gash cut through layers of skin, fat and muscle tissue around the ribs, severing the left pulmonary artery.

. “I don't think you should watch this,” she said to Trixie, her voice cracking.

“What? You don't think the Great and Powerful Trixie can't handle a little bit of blood?” She trotted up to the fallen beast, pulling out a small vial from her cloak and filling it with blood. “Surely you jest.”

“Suit yourself.”

With tears streaming down her face, Fluttershy stabbed her fangs through the timber wolf’s, drinking it dry; a sight which made Trixie wince. The blood tasted sickly sweet, like a combination of three-year-old strawberry jam and zap apple cider.

It took two full minutes for Fluttershy to drain the last drop of timber wolf's blood, but once it was finally over, she took a great sigh relief at the fact that the timber wolf was no longer suffering.

“Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick,” Trixie moaned, leaning on a tree with hoof over her mouth.

“I told you not to look.” Fluttershy replied irritably.

The more Fluttershy looked at the wound, the more it bothered her – not just because of the assault’s brutality. This was not a clean kill from a hunt, and no flesh had been consumed at all.This had been a desperate duel for survival, and the timber wolf had lost.

“Can we just move on please? Or does Trixie have to stick around for a funeral speech?”

Fluttershy shot Trixie a disapproving glare. “Alright, I’m done.”

Just as the pair turned to leave, a loud creak caught Fluttershy's ear, stopping her in her tracks.

“I was kidding about the funeral, you know,” Trixie moaned.

Fluttershy took no notice. She couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that she was being followed, yet when she turned around, nothing was there.

Nothing at all.

“Oh no…”

“Ugh, what is it this time?!” Trixie groaned through gritted teeth.

“The timber wolf,” she said, her voice quivering. “It's gone.”

“What do you mean it's go-” Trixie's jaw dropped. The corpse of the timber wolf—along with every trace of blood—had indeed vanished, smothered by the sudden explosion in tree-root growth.

“Well Fluttershy, it's a good thing Trixie has a plan for situations like these.”

“And that is?”

“Run!”

They broke into a gallop, but didn’t make it far. A branch as thick as apple tree’s trunk lashed down from the canopy. Fluttershy threw herself to the ground, the branch skimming a hair’s breadth away from her mane.

Trixie was not quite so agile. Her teleportation spell came too late, knocked her off her hooves with such a force that she was gasping for breath before she even hit the ground.

“Trixie!” Fluttershy cried and leaped into the air with wings at full spread. The forest responded by weaving a thick mesh branches, blocking her rescue attempt.

Pulling herself to her hooves, Trixie wasted no time in blasting the assaulting flora with her magic. Each shot pushed the branches back, allowing for breathing room, though it did nothing to halt its advance. If she didn't think of a more permanent solution, a wooden tomb would be her end.

Fluttershy was not about to let that happen, and a little-known fact about Bat would be her solution. With a broad stroke of her webbed wings, she launched herself skyward, flying straight for the first opening in the enclosing treeline she could spot.

Shooting straight through the ever-tightening tunnel of brambles at top speed, Fluttershy folded in her wings at the last second and broke through the canopy, letting out a sharp gasp upon her eyes meeting the magnificent light of the full moon.

As the lunar magic seared through every inch of her body, her eyes narrowed into sharp slits, the world around her bursting to life with a vast array of iridescent colours. Everything gave off a shimmering aura, the lifeblood of Equestria flowing through her body.

Her ears twitched at the thunderous sound of shifting bark, combining with the distinct scent of a frightened unicorn, directing her to her target. Scanning across the canopy, she chose her point of entry, pulling in her wings tight against her side.

Pitching her nose forward, Fluttershy plummeted back down to earth, the tips of her wings twitched left and right to control her high-speed descent. With her eyes locked on Trixie's location, Fluttershy crashed through the corrupted entanglement, weaving through the maze of branches with the utmost grace.

With her target rapidly approaching, Fluttershy threw open her wings, levelling out her descent with less than a filly’s height of room to spare. Seconds before whisking Trixie away in her hooves, Fluttershy caught a brief glimpse of an arcane bomb hurtling past her, before finding herself consumed in a blinding flash of magical light.

And in the blink of an eye, the two ponies found themselves tumbling end over end towards the baron earth, skidding to a halt a dozen foot away from the ensuing explosion.

“Ow!” Trixie groaned, the world still spinning around her. “That's the last time Trixie will book Air Equestria for her trans-dimensional hop!”

Though neither of them was seriously injured, Fluttershy's whole body ached like mad; something she hadn’t felt since helping Rainbow Dash create a water tornado. “I think I need more landing practice,” she said wearily. “Are you okay there, Trixie?”

“Oh, never better,” Trixie's replied, her sarcasm razor-sharp as she rubbed her throbbing horn. “While Trixie appreciates the drastic stunt you pulled off there, it was far from necessary. Trixie can assure you that she already had her own plan of escape!”

Fluttershy glared back at Trixie. “Let me guess; just shoot at the trees until they went away?”

“Well… not exactly, no…” Trixie muttered under her breath before clearing her throat. “Trixie was aiming to shoot at them, distract them with an arcane bomb, then proceed to use a cleansing spell to wipe out the corrupting magic. Trixie has quite a few magical resources, you know!”

“And if the spell hadn't worked?”

Trixie opened her mouth to answer but closed it again.

“I thought so.” Fluttershy rolled her eyes. Although I do wonder what happened to make those trees start attacking us suddenly?”

“Well, I can tell you that Timber Wolf blood isn't supposed do that.” Pulling out a vial from cloak, Trixie rotated it in her hoof, carefully examining the consistency of the collected blood within.

“Hmm, nothing unusual here,” Rubbing her chin, Trixie decided to experiment further, ripping out a small strand of ivy from the ground. “Stand well back.”

Fluttershy didn't need to be told twice.

Holding both objects in her magic, she levitated them as far away as she could manage. If what she was pondering was correct, she wasn't taking any chances. With a deep breath, her muscles tensing, Trixie dropped the ivy into the blood.

In a flash, the ivy exploded into life, doubling its size and shattering the glass vial, its tendrils spiralling out in every direction.

Sweat pouring down her face, Trixie struggled to maintain her telekinetic grip on the plant, her magic glowing brighter as she pumped more of her power into the spell, struggling to keep it in the air. With her horn still aching from her dramatic teleportation, she hoped to Luna that the reaction would end soon.

The more the vines flailed, the more Trixie pushed herself to hold on, refusing to let herself be trapped by such monstrous vines again.

Then, just as quickly as the reaction began, the plant started decaying, withering away until it was no more than a blackened husk.

“Well then,” Trixie gawked between heavy breaths, levitating the shrivelled plant back towards her. “It seems that Trixie's hypothesis has been proven correct, and them some!”

Fluttershy gulped hard. The plant looked like it had been assaulted by a flock of vampire fruit bats. To witness such a sudden cycle of life and death made her blood run cold.

“W-what does this mean?” Fluttershy asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. “Did I cause all those trees to go wild?”

Trixie shook her head. “No. Though you may have triggered the process, neither lunar nor wild magic works like that; they only enhance what's already there. The closest I've seen to this is an earth pony’s cultivation spell.”

An awkward silence fell between them. Though neither would say it, the implications of this effected gave them both an uncomfortable weight on their conscience. The autumn wind washed over Fluttershy, invoking a shiver as the fine hairs across her body stood up on end.

“Perhaps we should make camp for the night,” Trixie suggested. “Give me a minute to set up a perimeter spell, then we can warm ourselves up around a camp fire.”

Fluttershy just nodded, her stomach growling. At least her rations would offer some relief while Trixie set up their protection.

Oh Applejack, what have you done? Fluttershy thought to herself, unaware of a familiar presence watching over her among the undergrowth.

Applejack gasped. She made it! Her mental barriers restrained the wolf, yet there could be no celebration yet. Massaging her head, she could still hear the creature's howls ringing in her skull. A sharp pang of pain on her temples mimicked its claws ripping at her mind, a furious attempt to breach through these new walls. Gritting her teeth and clawing at the earth, she unleashed a growl that matched the wolf's fury.

"Stop it... stop it!" she muttered to herself, shaking her head. Her eyes narrowed, the sharp slivers sending a half-transformed pony before her scrambling away in panic. She needed something to focus on, fast.

Her rumbling stomach provided the answer. The image of herself clamping her jaws around the neck of a small woodland creature was the first thing to come to mind. The thought of its bones crunching from the bite, her tongue lapping up the hot blood gushing from its wounds; it was enough to make her mouth water.

Tensing her muscles, Applejack, tentatively placed one paw in front of the other, easing herself into the new shape of her limbs like a new born filly learning to walk.

Run! The wolf commanded, whispering into her ear as it pulled at the chains in her mind. The wilds beckon you! Find your prey and eviscerate it!

Applejack bit her lip, digging her claws into the ground to restrain herself. Several werewolves among her pack had already given in, meeting a swift end at Ebony’s claws before they could escape. Her transformation from pony to wolf happened in the blink of an eye, her body seamlessly restructuring itself as if she were made from child’s putty.

Her wolf form was a magnificent sight. The colours of her coat struck Applejack as greater in vibrancy than before, her mane flowing from her thick jaws to draw the eye across the full breadth of her imposing stance.

Watching this, Applejack wondered how long it had taken Ebony to conquer her primal instincts.Given the ease of which she manipulated her form, Applejack reasoned that she was either had a lifetime’s worth of experience, or her earth pony magic was a source of magnanimous power.

“That'll do!” Ebony announced, allowing the psycho ponies to slit the throats of all who failed. “The remaining twelve of you, listen up. You have all far surpassed my expectations, so I think it's only fair that you are appropriately rewarded. Obey me as your pack leader, and together we shall have the greatest hunt this forest has ever seen!”

Her words were music to pack's ears. With a long, bellowing howl, the hunt began, sparking a surge of adrenaline through Applejack's body that sent her leaping forward. Each beat of her racing heart pumped blood in perfect synchronicity with each step she took, the wolf’s power merging with her natural stamina.

Mile after mile her pack ran on, Applejack's thoughts never straying from the type of prey her master had in mind. She had no idea where Ebony was taking her, but she didn’t care. Simply running in the presence of wolves on a hunt was enough to keep her satisfied—and the wolf—satisfied.

Her rhythmic trance ceased when Ebony halted the pack at the banks of the broad.

“Ears open and noses to the ground, my pack,” Ebony whispered. “Our prey won't be far now.”

“Now hold on just a minute there,” Applejack protested, her nose twitching at an uncomfortably familiar scent. “Doncha think it’d be best to plan our attack before we find it? ‘Cause what I smell is a real nasty piece o’ work.”

“That is a valid point, dear Applejack,” By the way Ebony licked her lips, it was obvious to all that she had something quite exotic in mind. “I have no need to tell you how important it is for our pack to be unified, am I right? Yes, of course I am. You all need something big to chew on; something that will test your physical mastery of the wolf…”

“Quit stalling and just tell us already!” a red-maned werewolf with a bloodied hoof for a cutie mark snapped, shoving Applejack aside with frustrated impatience. Applejack reactively gnashed her jaws, rumbling a low growl through her throat towards him.

“Tsk, tsk, such impatience, young Bloodmane,” Ebony scalded, wagging her finger at the underling.

“My name is Bloodhoof…” the impatient werewolf muttered to himself, though he soon came to regret his words.

Ebony’s smile faded, replaced instead with a harsh glare.

“Your name is Bloodmane now, we've been over this.” Her voice held no anger, but by the way he cringed at her look, Applejack could tell it was enough to express strong disapproval. She almost felt pity for the youngster.

“Now Bloodmane, what do you recall happens to werewolves who can’t keep their temper under control?”

Bloodmane gulped. “They are… disposed of, ma’am.”

“Good. And you don’t want to fail when you have made such excellent progress, do you?”

“N-no, ma’am.”

“I should think not. But you know what I do think?”

“…That I should be—um—disciplined, ma’am?”

“Yes, I think that is the appropriate course of action. Wouldn’t you agree, Applejack?”

Applejack was not unfamiliar with dealing out discipline. It was part of being a responsible guardian. However, what Applejack did to Bloodmane, she would never have dreamt of doing to her little sister.

Swiping her claw across his face, Applejack knocked him onto his back, leaving deep gashes torn across his face.

Bloodmane whimpered, his ears drooped and tail between his legs.

It took a moment for Applejack to realise what she had just done. She’d bruised a few cheeks in her time for self-defence – but never as a punishment, especially not to Applebloom. Not even in her darkest nightmares would she imagine deliberately inflicting harm onto other ponies.

“W-what did I just do?” Applejack stuttered, staring at the fresh blood dripping from her claws.

“What was necessary to do, my dear,” Ebony said, placing a claw on Appeljack’s shoulder. “Out in the wild, you follow the pack, or you die. There is no other alternative. The pain that Bloodmane feels is only a fraction of what he could receive from the forest beasts. I’d say getting off lightly has taught him a valuable lesson, don’t you think?”

Applejack looked back down at Bloodmane, who hid his face behind his paws, still wimpering. She nodded in acknowledgement to Ebony. No, she never desired to harm other ponies, but she wasn’t just a pony now. She was also a wolf, and if other wolves didn’t learn to shape up, they would be dead. Better to learn a harsh lesson now before the hunt.

“Now then,” Ebony announced. “The challenge of our hunt today is to bring down a five-headed hydra. Any worthwhile teacher would have taught you as children that decapitating the hydra doesn’t work. So, does any-wolf have an alternative plan?”

“Crush it!” One wolf at the back cried out.

“Tear it limb from limb!” called another.

“Rip out its still beating heart from its chest!”

Ebony let out an amused chuckle as she shook her head. “I must say, those are all fabulous ideas. But as… imaginative as some of them are, they aren’t exactly practical without wounding the beast first.”

“Actually,” Applejack spoke up, gesturing to the pack. “The first wolf who said to crush it weren’t far off the mark. I remember one time as a filly, I was runnin’ from a pack o’ timber wolves, an' I accidentally caused a landslide, trappin' them all.

“No matter how much they tried to wriggle out, those varmints just couldn't get themselves free! If we found enough loose rocks n’ such, maybe we could trap the hydra before we bite its necks; not cuttin’ it, just chompin’ hard enough to crush its wind pipe.”

“Oh, sweet mother earth!” Ebony exclaimed, grinning wider than ever. “Applejack, you are a genius of a mare! I never realised you knew so much about hunting.”

If Applejack was entirely honest—which she usually was—she surprised even herself with the level of violence with that plan. Though with her stomach was still growling, she supposed that killing it without prolonged suffering was the most humane end possible.

“Now that we have a plan of action, Applejack and Bloodmane, I am entrusting you to lead the hydra back towards the waterfall north of here. The rest of you, follow me and be prepared to shove as many loose boulders over as you can. We have one chance to get this, so if you fail, you will starve!”

The message was loud and clear; the hunt was on. Splitting from the group with Bloodmane in tow, Applejack crept alongside the river bank, her nose to the ground as she followed the hydra’s scent; licking her lips as the smell grew stronger. The fact that it would literally be like nothing she ever tasted did nothing to quell her desire. She wanted it, and if she and Bloodmane stuck to the plan, she would obtain it.

Speaking of the impatient crimson wolf, he was plodding several steps behind Applejack, grumbling to himself about how unfair it was that he got punished for asking questions.

Swipe him again. The wolf suggested. Harder this time. That will shut him up.

Shaking her head, Applejack kept her eyes away from her partner, using the scent to maintain her focus away from such violent distractions. Given that Bloodmane’s stomach growls were growing louder than his whining, Applejack reasoned he would quiet down once he had his teeth between big chunks of hydra flesh.

When the Hydra finally wandered into their sights, Applejack raised her front paw, signalling for her partner to stop. She could hear how much Bloodmane was clawing at the ground and grinding his teeth, using every ounce of willpower to wait for her signal. Perhaps Ebony’s method o’ discipline ain’t so bad after all.

Patience was a skill all farm ponies had to learn for their profession. Applejack could remember countless times from her foalhood where she had smothered a seed in piles of soil, only to find out weeks later that it never began to grow. This, combined with her memory of the Hydra encounter during the whole Pinkie-sense debacle, made it easy for her to sit and study the beast’s movements.

Once again, she recalled the incident with Pinkie and Twilight. The speed of which the hydra rose from the swamp to chase them almost took them by surprise. So, charging in while three of its heads were on the lookout, she was certain would be suicide.

There was a certain moment Applejack was waiting for; and that moment came when the multi-headed beast lowered two of its necks, changing which heads would scout and which would drink.

Once all heads were lowered, Applejack and Bloodmane pounced.

Leaping from the bushes, the pair struck at the two outer heads, tearing out two massive chunks from the hydra's necks to expose the muscles around the spinal cords.

The thrashing reflex action of both heads only made matters worse for it. In the confusion of the moment, each neck slammed into each other, their heads ringing as the world spun around them.

KILL! The wolf screamed at Applejack. DELIVER THE FINAL BLOW AND END THIS HUNT!

It was an enticing desire, but Applejack refused to obey. Ebony had formed a plan, and for the sake of the pack, she would stick to it.

“Alright Bloodmane, time ta pull back a little.”

Bloodmane didn’t respond. A single glance into his eyes for Applejack to realise why Ebony killed werewolves who could not control themselves. His pupils were gone, his vision glazed over as he clawed and bit into any piece of the hydra he could get to. He had succumbed to the bloodlust; the red, hot juices spewing forth from the hydra’s veins triggering a feeding frenzy that consumed his senses.

“What the hay do you think you’re doin’, Bloodmane?!” Applejack yelled as she leapt to the hydra’s, landing just below the youngster.

But her words fell on deaf ears, her attempted intervention only causing Bloodmane to lash out, kicking wildly – the Hydra following suit by flailing its neck back and forth. In a flurry of blows, Bloodmane knocked Applejack off.

She landed with a hard thump on her back, but quickly rolled back to her feet, thanking her lucky stars the soft mud took some of the impact.

“Now listen here!” Applejack yelled, wincing in pain at the damaged muscles in her back, desperately trying to reach whatever reason was left in the former pony’s head. “Come to your senses already! If you don’t start gettin’ a hold of yourself, you’re gonna get yourself killed; either by the Hydra, or by Ebony!”

The crimson wolf paid no heed. It was looking like nothing would stop him now, leaving Applejack with no other option. She had to call the pack now and finish this fight.

Inhaling as deep as her lungs would allow, Applejack let out a long, powerful howl. In those ensuing moments, all other sounds of the forest fell silent. Bloodmane’s focus was finally broken, but so was the hydra’s.

“Hey there, ya gruesome twosome!” Applejack snarled. “How’s about you try and grab a piece of this mean ol’ she-wolf!”

Now she had all four heads' attention. Charging at the hydra, Applejack dropped into a roll as the first head struck the ground, dodging each ensuing snap of its jaws as Bloodmane clung on for dear life.

Once she had cleared the second head, Applejack broke into a run, following the bank upstream with the two angered monsters in tow. While the slippery surface mud of river bank slowed the monster’s chase, it was never far behind Applejack, constantly nipping at her heels.

For over a mile she led the monster, the bites on the back of her legs piling up to leave a bloody path behind her. If she could reach the waterfall, her pack leader would be ready and waiting, Celestia willing. The plan may not have gone exactly as intended, but there was still a chance for to make it work, if only she could overcome her physical limits.

A subtle rumbling sound from beyond the falls caught Applejack’s ear, spurring her on. Her lungs were burning with exhaustion and her muscles ached more than after her first transformation. Still she pushed herself, the growing shudder vibrating in the earth beneath her feet fuelling her hope for survival.

She knew that Bloodmane and the Hydra could hear it too. But with his mind now lost to the wolf within, and the hydra too fixated on revenge, neither of them reacted; even as the shadow of a large, spherical object rolled into the edge of Applejack’s vision.

Allowing herself to slow enough to be in range of the hydra’s teeth, along with a series of forced yelps and feigned trips, she kept its focus strictly on her; tantalizing it.

That was when Bloodmane pounced. Applejack tried to dodge, but her weary muscles had dulled her reflexes, leaving to be pinned under the weight of a raging red wolf.

Luckily for her, fortune still shined in her favour. Bloodmane’s assault put his tail directly underneath the Hydra’s feet, causing it to trip over its own neck as it tried to attack.

Anything still in the path of the rumbling boulder immediately vacated the area. But with Applejack’s front paws locked in a deadly duel with Bloodmane, she had only one option left to preserve her own life.

Focusing as much remaining strength as she could muster into her legs, Applejack bucked at Bloodmane's chest harder than she had ever bucked before.

The blow knocked the wind out of the red wolf's lungs, shoving him off just in time for Applejack to roll away from two, massive boulders tumbling down river; crushing all five of the hydra’s heads in one blow.

Applejack lay on her back, gazing up at the darkened sky above. Her breaths were heavy, struggling to hold her consciousness together.

A bright red light filled her blurry vision. Flowers began sprouting around her, growing around her wounds to sow them shut.

Less than a minute after her fight ended, she found the strength within herself to pull herself up. She had reverted to her regular pony form, but other than that, all the exhaustion and pain from her injuries had vanished.

She looked back to the slain hydra.

Laying just three feet away from it was the body of Bloodmane, reverted into pony form. He wasn’t moving. Instead, he just lay on his side, eyes wide in shock as he met his end – though his body was oddly I tact for somepony who had just been run over by enormous rocks.

“Applejack!”

A sharp pang of guilt shot through Applejack’s heart upon hearing Ebony’s call, her form reverting to her Pony shape.

“Good to see you’re awake, my dear.”

The relief in Ebony’s voice eased a portion of Applejack’s pain, though not enough to prevent a confession bursting out.

“I’m sorry Ebony,” she said, kneeling before the pack leader and bowing, “I couldn’t save him. The fool just went off the deep end. I tried to reach him, but I guess he wasn’t of stable mind after all. Kinda ironic, him dyin’ in the mouth o’ thing very thing he was so dead set on killin’.”

“Uh-oh, Applejack got a pack member killed,” one of the psycho ponies said with a sarcastic giggle. “Looks like she’s in for some discipline!”

“Oh! Oh! Let me do it!” another growled, pushing his way to the front. “I’ll cut her paw off!”

“No! It’s my turn!” the first snapped back, shoving the other back. “I’ll chew off her ear and pull out her tongue!”

Ebony sighed. “Oh, quiet down, will you?”

Both wolves recoiled at their master’s words.

“Anyway, it’s quite alright, Applejack” Ebony continued, gently pushing up Appeljack’s chin to look her in the eye. “To be honest, I’m surprised Bloodmane even survived his first transformation! I can assure you that neither you nor the hydra are responsible for his death.”

“Huh?” Applejack asked, staring blankly. “What are you talkin’ about? Bloodmane’s as dead as a plague rat caught in a corn trap, and I don’t know anythin’ else that’d made puncture wounds like that.”

“You shall see momentarily.” Ebony lowered her hoof, walking past Applejack and looking up into the trees in front of her.

“Alright then,” she called. “I know, the Night Shift sends their regards. You can all come out now.”

Emerging out of the foliage, a quartet of lunar pegasi landed in front of Ebony. They all stared her down with the same stone-faced grimace of royal Canterlot guards; except for the smallest bat pony among them. His posture was as stiff as a board, trying to stop his knees from shaking as he scanned over the wolf pack.

“H-how did you notice us?” the smallest pony stuttered.

“Now there’s a face I don’t recognise,” Ebony said, extending her hoof in greeting. “You must be new here. My name is Ebony Star, although I expect your comrades have told you all about me by now.”

The rookie tentatively raised his hoof in return, only to be corrected by a superior officer before he could shake.

“Don’t listen to a word she says, Private Delta Quill,” the officer snapped. “Don’t let her play mind games with you.”

Ebony tutted, growing a claw just to wag it at the Night Guard ensemble. “Such poor manners. Though I do suppose this little game of ours is getting a little repetitive. What say we skip all the bluster and get straight to the fighting, hmm?”

“Y-you-your orders, C-captain Crescent Dawn?” Delta asked, unsheathing his wing blades.

“Hold your position!” Crescent ordered. “And avoid using lethal force! Luna wants these werewolves captured and alive.”

“Now hold on just a cotton pickin’ minute-” Applejack’s attempt to question the Night Guards was silenced by the clap of Ebony’s hooves. The look on her face said everything she needed to know; time to fight.

Clad in midnight-blue plate, the Night Guards dodged and weaved from every slash and rake, their superior dexterity allowing them to fly in circles around their lupine foes. They had been trained in disciplined fighting arts, countering the werewolves' savagery through their natural fighting rhythm; block, deflect, retaliate, block, deflect, retaliate, until an opening ensues, and an opponent is killed.

Following this pattern, Delta made his move, slicing two shallow cuts at the ankles of his attacker to sever its tendons, avoiding the blood vessels.

Crescent spear-headed a triangular formation around the rookie with both other guards a short distance behind, striking hard and fast with his spiked gauntlets to keep away any interlopers. Hovering above his opponent, Crescent swung himself around and slammed his weapon into its face; the force of the punch knocking out several teeth with a single blow.

What do you think you’re doing?! The wolf in Applejack’s head screamed louder than ever before. Join your pack! Defend your master against the ponies who want you dead!

Shut up! Applejack screamed back, shaking her head violently.

This was wrong, all wrong. The style of fighting the Night Guards displayed—shallow cuts and gut punches, twisting around and blocking every attack—it all served to make the werewolf attacks slower over time.

As a matter of fact, what was that Ebony said about being a 'criminal mastermind', again?

The more she tried to remember, the more the wolf rattled its chains, scraping at her mind and screaming to be free – making her head throb more than ever.

What the hay am I missing? Think, Applejack, think!

“Applejack,” Ebony whispered softly into her ear. “Sick ‘em.”

With those two words spoken, something snapped in Applejack’s mind.

The wolf was free.

It was time for Applejack to defend her pack against the evil Night Guards.

Leaping into the air with a thrust of her powerful hind legs, Applejack transformed and pounced on the back of the bat pony commander.

Pinned his wings to the ground, she ripped off his armour and clamped her jaws down around the back of his neck, snapping it in two with a mighty crunch.

Commander Crescent Dawn fell was dead.

Leaderless, the Night Guards tried to fly away, only to find their way blocked by a dome of twisted plant life thicker than the stone walls of Canterlot.

The sight Applejack’s face smeared with gore rekindled the bloodlust in Ebony's pack, dragging the bat ponies down by sinking their teeth into the warriors’ hooves.

Ignoring the agonized screams, Applejack pounced on a second bat pony, slicing her claws into the straps that held her breastplate in place. Turning her over, Applejack tore off the armour, and scraped her way through the victim’s chest; breaking through the layers of skin and muscle until she reached her still beating heart.

Biting down on the organ, a final scream erupted from the bat pony’s mouth, her last sight before death being the spectacle of her own heart being eaten.

All the while, Ebony sat and watched, clapping her hooves in excitement and cheering like a filly at a buckball game.

“Yes!” she proclaimed, giggling with insane glee as a third bat pony had her wings torn off by a pair of wolves pulling in either direction. “I am so proud of you all! But please, leave the little one alive. I have a special gift I want him to pass on to Princess Luna.”

At her request, the werewolves halted their attack, leaving Delta Quill to cower in terror.

When he finally peeked out from behind his hooves, his heart caught in his throat at the grotesque sight before him.

Pieces of his squad were scattered everywhere, their flesh mangled to such a degree that they were unrecognisable. Two of the wolves were still gnawing on the commander’s leg bones, including Applejack.

“How ironic,” Ebony gloated, collecting scattered pieces of shredded muscle as she slowly approached Delta. “The pony who was sent here to rescue Applejack now needs rescuing himself!”

Dropping the gory mixture in front of Delta, including the severed wing of Crescent Dawn, Ebony mashed all the bits together like a child with play dough.

“A little gift for you and the Night Shift,” Ebony said with a forced motherly tone. “Be a dear and deliver this to them for me, will you? Oh, and tell them not to bother coming back. Applejack is mine, and nopony is going to take her away from me. Do you understand?”

Delta nodded, refusing to even look at the wolf who once embodied the Element of Honesty.

“Good boy. So, run along now, it’s almost time for dinner.”

Ebony couldn’t stop herself cracking up at that last quip, sending a shiver of terror down Delta's spine. Clutching the sticky mess of meat against his chest, Delta took to the air, flying away through the provided opening as fast as his wings could carry him.

Once he was gone, Ebony pushed the remaining corpses into a pile beside the hydra, giving Applejack priority in getting the first bite.

As the werewolves gorged themselves on pony flesh, Ebony dug out a small hole in the soil, neatly burying the retrieved armour of at the base of a tree.

As she stomped the earth to pack in the artefacts, her hooves flared to life with a flash of crimson magic, twisting every piece of flora within a five-mile radius into jagged, thorny mockeries of their normal state – oozing a thick, red miasma from the blackened flowers that sprouted over every inch of them.

“Everfree is such a bland name for a forest,” Ebony scoffed. “I think ‘the Nightmare Glade’ is a much more fitting title for our new home. Wouldn’t you agree, Applejack?”

Applejack didn’t respond, too preoccupied with feasting on the dead bat ponies, even a thick covering of splintered bark grew over her.

Part 4: Wolves Against the World

Applejack's eyes slowly fluttered open, a wide yawn escaping from her lips. Rubbing her eyes back into focus and stretching her limbs, she saw that most of her pack were still asleep.

They must still be in a food coma, Applejack thought, chuckling to herself. Given what we’ve been huntin’, I guess it’s hardly suprisin’.

Yet as Applejack scanned her surroundings, she realized she couldn’t see nor hear any trace of running water. In fact, the pack had come to rest in a more heavily wooded area, on the edge of a small cliff.

Well, that’s mighty strange. I don’t recall movin’ away from the river after our last meal.

Applejack rubbed her temple, trying to remember any minute details that would remind her of this missing span of time. Predictably, all she got was another headache for her troubles.

“These are gettin’ mighty irritatin’…” she grumbled under her breath.

“They’re coming.”

The familiar voice of Ebony broke the silence, rousing more of the pack back to the waking world. She was sitting on the edge of the cliff, her back turned to the pack as she gazed out through the undergrowth. “This will be interesting.”

“What will be interestin', Ebony?” Applejack asked, trotting over to her pack leader.

“Hmm? Oh, good to see you're awake, Applejack,” Ebony replied, her posture relaxing upon greeting. “Nothing much. Just a local pack of Timber Wolves I've been meaning to bring into the fold. No sense wasting an opportunity to expand our pack, after all.”

“Seems our pack's getting awfully big, wouldn't ya say?” Applejack asked, glancing back over the seven remaining wolves.

“Oh, think nothing of it,” Ebony waved her hoof in dismissal. “I've been in far larger packs than this. I doubt a few extra timber wolves will cause a fuss.”

“If ya say so.”

Applejack spent a little while longer sitting next to Ebony, waiting for all pack members to awaken. She had to admit, despite her initial weariness of her, Ebony seemed to be as respectable a pony as any. Harsh, maybe. But given her pack’s success, it was hard for Applejack to dismiss the effectiveness of her actions.

Looking up towards the forest canopy, Applejack began to wonder how long she had been out in the Everfree. Most of her memories between Winona going missing and meeting with Ebony were just a haze of scattered images, so it was possible that she had been out here for weeks, or even months, prior to their meeting.

Her thoughts drifted back to her closest friends. Had they come looking for her? The Everfree was a dangerous place—nopony would deny that—but it wasn't like they hadn’t braved greater dangers before.

Maybe they’re still out there somewhere, looking for me?

However, there was still the problem of revealing her werewolf nature to her friends.

So far, her self-control had gotten off to a reasonably good start – a few bumps in the road here and there, but otherwise a success.

Despite how much her heart ached to see her friends and family again, the memory of Bloodmane’s break from sanity made her own mastery of the wolf uncertain. It was as much for her own safety as it was for others that she stayed away until she was certain her feral desires were under control.

A fact that didn't make her separation anxiety any easier.

“Something on your mind, Applejack?” Ebony asked, noticing her thousand-yard stare.

“Heh, yeah, that easy to tell, huh?” Applejack replied. “It ain't anythin' big ta worry 'bout, though. Just feelin' homesick right now.”

Ebony shuffled over and grabbed Applejack's hoof. “I know this must be hard for you. But the wilds call us for a reason. We must mould ourselves around the natural world before there is any hope for civilisation.”

“Well, yeah, I get that,” Applejack replied, rubbing her free hoof on the back of her head with an awkward blush. “But do ya have ta be so... melodramatic about it?”

Ebony let out a small chuckle as she released her grasp. “I suppose that's just who I am. You mean a lot to me, Applejack. All my pack members do. I cannot in good faith allow you to get hurt by returning to a world that thinks we are monsters.

“One day, you will see your family again. I think we can agree on the correct course of action for the time being.”

Applejack let out a quiet sigh. “Yeah, I get what ya mean. Just hard to get mah head ta stop worryin' about all the trouble I'm puttin' them through, y'know?”

Ebony nodded. “Of course. I would never expect you to simply shrug off your emotional burdens like a winter coat. All I ask is that you to stick with our agreement; trust in me, and I will help you.”

“Y'know, I was worried at first. But now? I know I can trust you.”

Applejack couldn't explain why, but every time she gazed into Ebony's eyes, she felt her stressors melt away.

The softness in her voice, her commanding yet motherly attitude. It felt right. She belonged here, deep in the Everfree forest, hunting beside her Alpha.

No chores, no duties, no standards to live up to beyond both survival and a base level of respect for the pack. How could anypony insist that she was a monster akin to Nightmare Moon or Discord?

A howl in the distance grabbed Applejack's attention away from Ebony's gaze.

“Aha, I think our guests have arrived,” Ebony said, rising to her hooves and waking the rest of the werewolves. “Look alive, my pack. We are about to become stronger than anything this forest has seen before!”

Ever since Trixie and Fluttershy had parted ways with the Night Guards, they had walked in silence – eyes darting between the compass and the deceptive stillness of the forest.

Considering what lay just below the surface, both ponies knew that time was running out. To some extent, Trixie didn't want to know how far the corruption had spread. To learn that the task was insurmountable would be a crushing blow to both their spirits, at best.

At worst, it meant submission to the Nightmare which infected Applejack.

The smallest flicker of hope, no matter how distant, was essential to this rescue mission. By keeping faith in Applejack's tenacity, and the tools which the Night Shift had granted, Trixie would use every ounce of her will to overcome the infectious malevolence.

That was the theory, anyway. If such child-like hope came to fruition remained to be seen.

Every time Trixie looked back at Fluttershy, she noticed a subtle quirk of her body language which betrayed her calm exterior. With each step she took, her hooves would make a slight twitch before they contacted the ground.

Trixie had slowed to match Fluttershy's walking speed, her own mind too clogged with heavy thoughts to start a discussion about her apprehension.

Yet with every twist and turn they made through the forest, neither of them could avoid seeing the subtle signs of corruption waiting to be unleashed, only growing in its presence the deeper into the glade they went.

Where the threshold between natural magic and the nightmare's dominance lay, it was impossible to tell. Based on what they had both seen before, it was entirely possible that they had long passed the point where the levels of sickness reached one-hundred percent.

All this led to one final question which had so far remained unspoken. But to get to it, Trixie knew that she would have to break the tension that hung in the air.

“So,” she said, clearing her throat. “Have you ever considered joining in with one of Trixie's shows? You would be quite the star with your acrobatics. Trixie can see it now; 'The Great and Powerful: Trixie's Incredible Acrobatic Stunt Show, Featuring: Flora, the Yellow Lunar Pegasus!'. What do you think? Sound appealing?”

Fluttershy said nothing, beyond a brief glance in Trixie’s direction.

“It's a working title?” Trixie added, shrugging her shoulders, still with no response. Realising that small talk wasn't working, Trixie sighed. Pocketing the compass, she stopped in front of Fluttershy and met her line of sight.

“Fluttershy, I can tell you're still hurting because of the Ursa Major's death. But right now, we need to make a final rescue plan. Ebony could be around any corner, and we'll accomplish nothing if we're not prepared.”

Fluttershy averted her gaze. “I'm not great at hiding my emotions, am I?” she asked. “I guess I'm just worried. I know Moonlight gave me their gem, but... what if it's not enough? What if I lose control again? Trixie, if I hurt Applejack, I... I don't know if I could live with myself.”

“Trixie understands your worries-”

“No! Trixie does not understand!” Fluttershy snapped, releasing a torrent of pent-up emotions on Trixie, tears streaming down her face. “You've been a town grump, but you've never been a monster, like I have! You hunt monsters! You lock them away, like you did to me, and still your potions can't keep me sane! How am I supposed to trust you to contain Applejack, Trixie, when you can't even contain me?!”

Removing her hat, Trixie fiddled with it between her hooves, looking away from Fluttershy as she carefully considered her next words. She had to admit, Fluttershy was right. She had made a massive blunder. There was no escaping that fact. There was no more room for such mistakes, not with another pony's life on the line.

“Fluttershy,” Trixie eventually replied, her voice soft. “Don't tell anypony I said this, but...” she leaned in close to Fluttershy's ear. “Even Trixie's made mistakes. Too many to count. I wish I had something better to prove I’m trustworthy, but I don’t. All I can ask is that you give the Great and Powerful: Trixie one more chance to prove she can live up to her title. For Applejack's sake.”

Fluttershy slumped on her hindquarters, rubbing her face in her hooves. “Trixie, I…” she said between sobs, curling up on the ground. “I… Trixie, I don’t know! I want to trust you, but… Oh, Celestia, what am I supposed to do?!”

What Trixie said next surprised even her.

“Fluttershy, bite me.”

Fluttershy had to do a double take. She must have heard that incorrectly.

“I'm sorry, what?” she asked, blinking in confusion.

“I said, bite me,” Trixie restated, holding out her hoof. “Drink from me and share some of your blood. I’m confident enough my potions to prevent me from turning, and I trust you with my life.”

Fluttershy stared blankly, visibly struggling to process what Trixie was asking. She opened her mouth several times to offer some rebuttal, but nothing came out.

“Fluttershy, I know it's a big request, but you know why it has to be done.”

“Oh, sweet Celestia, you are serious!”Fluttershy exclaimed.

“Of course, I’m serious,” Trixie said with a firm, yet gentle tone. “Trixie knows she is far from perfect, don’t get her wrong. But if she has no confidence in her own potions, how can she be confident in her ability to contain monsters and help ponies affected by them? Consider what Twilight Sparkle would do.”

“Overthink this for an hour until she comes to the worst possible answer?”

“Precisely!”

Fluttershy broke off eye contact with Trixie. Looking around her at the forest, then looking at her wings, and finally at her hooves, she let out a short sigh.

With no further hesitation, Fluttershy grabbed Trixie's hoof and sunk her fangs down into her, just above the wrist.

Trixie flinched, biting down on her lip to try and control her expressions of pain – a sensation which, she had read, was only the start.

She never believed the descriptions of vampire bites form old pony tales; the kind that described it as a strangely erotic process. Then again, she had never believed in vampires at all as a filly. Even the Night Guards, for all their bat-like appearances, were only rumoured to drink blood; a useful tactic for keeping paranoia high among the criminal underworld of Canterlot.

To this day, aside from a small gathering of rural communities on the edges of Equestria, most ponies still thought such creatures to be the work of babbling scribblers, turning little known magic into bed time fables to make their children behave.

Trixie now understood why.

How could anypony accurately describe this experience in words?

It was a bizarre cocktail of pleasure and pain, a departure from the world and into a swirling mass of emotions that flooded all the senses. It was a temporary death, while also clinging on to the world of the living; feeling every moment of the blood feast while losing all connection to one’s surroundings.

The whole experience only lasted ten seconds, but it left Trixie feeling like she’d aged a full lifetime in every moment.

“Trixie? Trixie! Please say something!” Trixie heard Fluttershy’s screaming voice, though in the aftermath of the bite, she couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. “Oh no, what have I done? Trixie, please, don't die!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is...” she paused for a moment, rubbing her hoof under her chin in contemplation of what to say next. “A little sea-sick. But worry not, she shall not be losing her lunch today!”

“Oh, thank Celestia,” Fluttershy said, wiping the blood from her fangs and pulling Trixie into a hug. “I thought I'd overdone it there.”

“Fluttershy… Trixie has a question she must ask of you,” Trixie said, her cheeks darkening with a small blush. “Did... did Trixie taste good?”

Fluttershy giggled, breaking eye contact and blushing in return. “Oh, um... yes. Trixie was, quite delicious. Thank you.”

Trixie took a few tentative hoof steps forward, swaying from side to side in an uncoordinated shamble. “Ugh... p-please, give Trixie a minute.” Rummaging around in her cape, Trixie pulled out a series of potions, only to reject each one.

“Do you need any help, Trixie?” Fluttershy asked.

“No, no, Trixie will be...” Trixie burped, nearly tripping over her own hooves. “Will be fine, she promises!”

Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hoof, struggling to suppress her amusement at Trixie's condition.

“What is so…” Trixie’s objection was interrupted by another loud burp. “…funny, Butter-shy?”

“I mean no offence, Trixie,” Fluttershy replied. “It’s just that you look like Rainbow Dash after drinking too much of Applejack's cider. She always stumbles home with me, rambling incoherently about how totally awesome—and not at all drunk—she is.”

Finally finding the potion she was after, Trixie popped open the bottle and downed it in one go; her face scrunching up from the bitter taste.

“Ugh, I really need to work the flavour,” she said, her muscles tensing so her legs no longer felt like jelly. “Perhaps next month Trixie can try and add a pineapple flavour?”

At that point, both Fluttershy and Trixie broke into a fit of laughter, howling away the tension between them.

Alas, the refreshing laughter didn't last long.

Seconds after downing the full bottle of her potion, Trixie's eyes went wide with horror at the truth she now beheld. She thought she had seen the worst of Ebony's corruption before, but now she knew how wrong she had been. What she saw went far beyond the decayed roots, twisted thorns and crawling maggots that had entrapped the Ursa Major.

“We have to go. Now.”

“Huh? Trixe, w-what… where?”

Ignoring Fluttershy’s half-babble answer, Trixie grabbed her hoof, bursting into a gallop with her in tow.

From out of the surrounding darkness, a thousand demonic eyes stared, watching their every move. No longer were the tree branches covered in leaves, they had all been shed, making way for the twisting tentacles that wriggled out in every direction to spread the infection.

The sight that shook Trixie to her very core, however, was a plethora of animals, no matter how big or small, petrified alive; all posed in a way that made it obvious to anypony they had been fleeing before being turned to wood. She dared not think about how Fluttershy was reacting to this sight.

A glow from Trixie's horn led the way for the first few minutes of running, only to be replaced as time went on with a hellish red glow, bursting from cracks in the ground.

The same illumination which lit their way also highlighted an abundance of monstrous features now scarring the landscape. What beasts had not been petrified were instead subject to startling mutations; misshapen limbs crawling from the gaping maws in the earth with over-sized claws dragged behind them.

What was once a sweet chorus of twittering bird songs becoming a hellish screaming crescendo, spiralling out of control in the air on uneven wings which barely held them aloft.

Now fully aware of the nightmare’s devastating effects, the Night Shift duo found themselves on the receiving end of the nightmare's wrath on a scale like nothing before. Plant, animal, elemental, it didn't matter. If it moved, it attacked them with everything they had.

Trixie had seen this tactic used before, but never on such a scale. This has become a war of attrition, and Ebony was the one standing safely at the back, orchestrating this all to happen.

Between Trixie's teleportation and Fluttershy's flight, the two dodged and weaved their way past the ever-increasing number of obstacles, too busy to notice the shifting trees keeping them moving in the same direction as the compass' arrow. Only when they were certain they had lost the monstrosities did they stop running, hoping to take a breather in a seemingly barren area before traversing up the steep slope ahead of them.
Instead, their obstacle revealed itself to them.

Eyes lighting up from every direction, a pack of ten, corrupted Timber Wolves surrounded them; each one drooling a strange liquid which dissolved all plant matter on contact.

Trixie and Fluttershy stood back to back, ready to defend themselves against them. Yet the attack didn't come. Instead, a familiar voice called out from beyond the hill.

“Fluttershy? Trixie? What in Equestria are y'all doin' out here?”

“Applejack!” Fluttershy called, crying tears of joy as she ran to her lost friend. Even the snapping jaws of a timber wolf blocking her path couldn't sink the levity she felt washing over her body. “Thank Celestia, you're alive! I was so worried about you!”

“Looks like you've got a fair bit more to worry about than just me, sugar cube,” Applejack replied nonchalantly, taking care to slide down the hill. “I dunno what's gotten into these timber wolves, but they look mighty spooked! Y'all just stay calm and let me and Ebony handle this.”

Fluttershy's smile dropped. “Ebony?” she asked in a meek voice.

“Whatever that mare's done to you,” Trixie said, “You’ve got to get away from her, now! She's putting all of us in incredible danger!”

“Why, whatever are you talking about, oh magnificent Night Shift agent?” Stepping out of the shadows, Ebony Star finally revealed herself to Trixie and Fluttershy, leisurely trotting down the hill.

Fluttershy hadn’t known what to expect from Ebony, besides her being a pony. But she never conceived her to be somepony so... normal.

There was not a single blemish of corruption anywhere on her body, as if she had just walked out of the Ponyville spa.

Despite her cleanliness, Fluttershy felt there was still something off about her. The way she walked had no rhythm to it, yet her pace never slowed.

Studying her expression, Fluttershy was certain Ebony was hiding something behind that broad grin of hers; it was an expression which even a school foal knew something was hidden behind it.

Recalling everything Moonlight and Spectre had told her about Ebony, the notion of such great power kept tightly concealed made Fluttershy’s skin crawl – helped little by the faint glimmer in Ebony’s eyes.

“Oh, and you've brought along a pet, have you?” Ebony continued. “Oh, wait a second! That's the Element of Kindness; Fluttershy, isn't it? Why, what in Equestria have you done to that poor soul?!”

“Come to think of it, what is it with that weird bat pony getup, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked. “Are there vampires lurkin' in the Everfree like there are werewolves too? Maybe you could use Ebony's help as well.”

“Applejack, be very careful around those two!” Ebony shot Trixie and Fluttershy a repulsed glare. “Trixie is part of the Night Shift; the same organisation who sent those Bat Ponies to capture our pack. Who knows what they’d do if they capture us? Why, she’s even turned Fluttershy into one of them to exploit you!”

“Applejack, please listen to Trixie!” Fluttershy protested. “Ebony is a wanted criminal who’s been corrupting the forest for Celestia knows how long! Can't you see what she’s done?”

“Now hold on just a cotton pickin' minute here,” Applejack replied, rubbing her head in confusion. “First off, is it true that you're with the Night Shift now, Fluttershy? Did they really turn you into a bat pony?”

“No!” Fluttershy protested, shouting before Ebony could get another word in. “A Night Guard bit me to free me from Decadence’s control. Twilight and Trixie are helping with my self-control. This, Applejack?” She gestured over herself, then to Applejack, and finally to her surroundings. “This is everything Ebony wants us to be. Nothing more than monsters to do her bidding!”

Applejack turned back and locked eyes with Ebony. “There's gotta be some misunderstandin' here. Aren't you supposed to be the one helpin' me with the whole werewolf thing? Why, I can tell when Fluttershy’s lyin' a mile off; an’ the way she looks at Trixie, the way she looks at me... she ain't lyin’! You, on the other hoof…”

“Oh, my dear Applejack, how I am so hurt by your baseless accusations,” Ebony fluttered her eyelashes at Applejack in mockery. “I wish it didn't have to come to this, but it seems that I have no choice.” With a clap of her hooves, Applejack fell to the ground, screaming in agony.

“Applejack, no!”

After everything the relentless forest assaults threw at her, seeing Applejack thriving in pain—her body ripping itself apart for a decaying bark to sow back together—was the final straw for Fluttershy.

Baring her fangs as her eyes narrowed into tight slits, Fluttershy channelled her explosive rage into a long, feral scream; a sound so loud it forced all living things, except for Ebony, to cover their ears in pain.

Trixie's blood had been the appetizer, now it was time to move on to the main course of her blood feast.

Throwing out her wings, Fluttershy leaped into the air. She slammed herself into the nearest Timber Wolf, tackling it to the ground and wrapping her front hooves around its fore-paws without any regard for her own safety.

For a precious few sections, all wolves fell to the ground, whimpering at what felt like a thousand-needless stabbing at their eardrums.

A perfect opportunity for Trixie to take advantage of, fighting through her own pain to cast a teleportation spell and transporting herself directly to Applejack. Pulling out a potion, Trixie reached over to pull open Applejack's mouth, unaware that she was still conscious of the world around her.

With a force more than double that of the average stallion, Applejack bucked Trixie in the gut, knocking the wind out of her and crunching a couple of ribs in the process. Once again, it was up to Fluttershy to swoop in and save her, Timber Wolf blood dripping from her fangs.

“What's happening to Applejack?” Fluttershy asked, the fear in her raspy voice betrayed by its high pitch.

“I... don't… exactly… know…” admitted Trixie between deep gasps. “She’s… transforming…”

“Into a werewolf?”

“No… into… something else…”

“Brilliant, isn't it?” Ebony proclaimed, chest puffed out with pride as her pack gathered behind her. “All I had to do was turn one of the most well-known Earth Ponies in Equestria into a werewolf, and my seeds blossomed on their own! And to think, my little experiment lured in a Flutterbat to boot. Oh, how I love it when the test results yield bonus rewards!”

“I don't care about your stupid tests!” Fluttershy hissed, keeping the Timber Wolves in her peripheral vision in case they decided to avenge their packmate. “We're going to get Applejack home, and you're going to answer for how sick you’re making this forest!”

“Sick? You think I've made the Dark Ebon Glade sick?” Ebony threw her head back and bellowed with laughter. “Oh, you are such a riot! The Night Shift is so naïve, you're incapable of seeing the bigger picture. I'm not hurting the forest, I'm enhancing it! This was how everything used to be, before your precious Alicorns contained the chaos forces of old.”

“Horseapples!” Fluttershy yelled back. “Don’t you have a basic understanding of pony history? Working together to make civilisation is what saved us from the Wendigos!”

“Your ‘civilisation’, as you put it, is exactly what's wrong with Equestria! Dictating life’s progression to your own whims and denying nature its due? Had you worked with nature instead of against it, the Wendigos could have been your servants, not your enemies! Why, even Discord had a better idea of how the world works than you!”

“You're insane!” Fluttershy growled.

“Am I? Or am I the only one who sees Equestria for what it really is? A squandered version of its full potential.”

“Psst, Fluttershy,” Trixie whispered between deep, gasping coughs. “Keep her talking, I've got an idea.”

Fluttershy didn't respond to Trixie beyond a subtle nod of acknowledgement, all the while trying her best not to be distracted by Applejack's screams.

“I've taken care of animals since I was a filly. You don't think I know how nature works? Nature needs to be healthy, balanced, allowing all creatures to use its bounty; like the loving embrace of a mother. This—what you've created with your curse—is the exact opposite of a warm hug! You aren't nurturing the forest, you're killing it!”

“You think you've been around nature for a long time?” Ebony scoffed. “Please, don't make me laugh. I'm far older than my youthful complexion may suggest. I've had a bounty on my head long before Princess Luna decided to undermine her sister’s rule. In fact, Discord and I were quite the best of chums back in the day.”

With Ebony's attention fixed on the argument, Trixie let out another feigned groan of agony, rolled onto her back behind Fluttershy and withdrew her crossbow. Once the weapon was locked and loaded, she rolled onto her stomach once more, steadying her hooves and taking aim at Ebony’s head.

With her sights aligned, Trixie pulled the trigger.

Ebony responded with a brief gesture and stood aside.

On command, her werewolf minion leapt in front of her, the bolt piercing through its neck to kill it instantly.

“You'll have to do better than that if you want to kill me,” Ebony yawned, waving her hoof over her mouth as she kicked away the corpse. I guess the time for evaluating my opponents is over. Timber Wolves! Dinner time!

The Timber Wolves lunged.

On reflex, Fluttershy escaped to the air, while Trixie cast a series of brief, teleportation spells. Four times her magic pulsed, warping her from one end of the battlefield to the other.

The fifth cast of her spell didn’t go quite as smoothly.

“Trixie, look out!”

Returning to the material world, Trixie came face to face with a hungry timber wolf, pulling her head away from the beast’s jaws with a startled scream.

Stumbling backwards, Trixie pushed another arcane surge through her horn, only for a tiny slither of magic to spurt in place of the spell. With the timber wolf charging at her, jaws wide open, Trixie grabbed the first weapon she could think of to retaliate.

As it bloomed over her, Trixie stabbed a silver bolt up through its mouth with her front hooves, blood splattering over her as the weapon pierced the creature’s skull.

Brandishing her stake, Fluttershy dove to Trixie’s aid, attacking all timber wolves in her way with short, sharp stabs to grab their attention.

Circling around the battlefield, Fluttershy rounded up the timber wolves one by one, keeping her flight path low to the ground to maintain her hit and run attack pattern. At random intervals, Fluttershy banked hard in the opposite direction, pushing herself to keep her momentum going.

With each stroke of her wings, Fluttershy’s muscles flared with even greater pain. Her brain screamed at her to stop, to relieve herself from this constant exertion.

This was a luxury Fluttershy knew she couldn’t afford. Were she to stop now, there was no doubt she would be torn to shreds. In her mind’s eye, Fluttershy conjured the image of Rainbow Dash, cheering her on as she pushed herself beyond the limits of her capabilities.

With Fluttershy’s attacks wearing the corrupted beasts down, Trixie sized the moment, hastily loading her crossbow and firing into the timber wolf pack. Despite her earlier miscast, Trixie funnelled her magic into the bolts, a subtle spell which kept her aim steady despite her trembling hooves.

One by one, the timber wolves fell by bolt and by dagger. All the while, Ebony stood upon the hill, observing the unfolding fight.

Behind her, the werewolf pack was beginning to show signs of restlessness. They snapped at each other, growling and scraping at each other to relieve their frustration.

“Mistress!” One werewolf spoke up. “Please, I can’t take this much longer. Let us kill the usurpers! We scrape every scrap of meat from their bones. We will even eat them alive if you so demand us! Just, please, let us do something to them!”

Ebony, by contrast, was the epitome of serenity. Her posture relaxed, a gentle smile spreading across her face, she rubbed her chin as if studying the fighting prowess of Fluttershy and Trixie.

"I will let you in on a secret,” she said to her pack, glancing over her shoulder. “I never intended for the timber wolves to join our pack. They are merely pawns in my game. Now, however? It’s time for the real battle to begin.”

Biting into her hoof, the single drop of blood she shed was all that she needed to ignite the volatile growth of her corrupted seeds, tearing apart the corpses of the timber wolves under the force of the thick vines growing from their feet. As their life force drained away, the ground began to pulse with a deep red glow; channelling the wild magic directly into Applejack.

This stream of power silenced her agonised screams.

Uncurling from the foetal position, Applejack began gasping for air as Ebony’s magic moulded her body to its new form.

She was neither wolf nor pony, her shape instead becoming a new, more grotesque creature. Her hooves burst into flames, burning them to a blackened cinder as they split down the middle, the tips sharpening into a pair of razor-sharp claws.

From the top of Applejack’s skull, a pair of thick, branch-like antlers burst forth, snapping open to release a rain of fungal spores – matting her fur together and solidifying into a thick weave of rotten bark.

As Applejack rose, Fluttershy landed by her side, gasping with horror as she looked into her eyes.

What Fluttershy saw was not the eyes of a pony who greeted every sunrise with a passion for the day ahead. These eyes glowed bright yellow, staring soullessly into the world ahead.

“Oh, I do love it when everything goes according to plan,” Ebony announced with a mad giggle. “Say hello to my newest creation! I present to you; Timberjack!”

Fluttershy knew what she had to do.

Yet, as she hovered over the creature which used Applejack’s body, doubt still held sway over her mind. She couldn’t put it into words, but there was still a spark of hope deep down within her; keeping the idea that—somewhere within this tangled monstrosity of pony flesh and corrupted plant life—Applejack was still holding on.

“What are you waiting for, Fluttershy?” Trixie yelled. “Applejack’s gone! You have to deal with her now!”

“Yes,” Fluttershy stated in return. “I’ll deal with her.” Throwing away her silver stake, Fluttershy bared her fangs and let out a loud hiss, glaring at Ebony.

“I had a feeling it would come to this,” Ebony shrugged. “Well then, my pack. How do you fancy demonstrating your full strength to our guests?”

To that, the werewolves howled in unison, bounding past their master with Trixie in their sights.

This was the moment Trixie had prepared for. After a quick re-count of her remaining bolts, she loaded three into her crossbow, pulling a small leaver on the side and took careful aim. Biding her time, she waited for the werewolves to make the first move.

With the number of bolts remaining, Trixie knew she would have to rely on more than good marksmanship to kill this pack.

Once the last werewolf had left Fluttershy in their wake, she pulled the trigger.

Reloading as fast as she could, Trixie fired off two more burst rounds, killing three werewolves before they could reach her and grievously wounding four more.

By now, it was no longer a surprise that the werewolves didn’t slow down at all. What worried Trixie more was the residual power still flickering across her horn, leftovers from her failed spell.

She could only hope she had enough magic to put her plan into fruition.

Once she could see the whites of the werewolves’ fangs, she flashed her horn and teleported behind the back.

Yet again, she came up closer than she had wanted.

Breaking into a gallop, the werewolves had to make a hard U-turn to follow her. Ripping a bolt free from a pony’s corpse, Trixie hastily reloaded her crossbow, priming it just in time to shoot a werewolf between the eyes at point blank range.

There was no time for a second shot. She flared up her horn to teleport again, but this time, nothing came out.

Growling with primal fury, the next werewolf along pounced on Trixie, knocking the crossbow out from her hooves and pinning her beneath its paws.

Trixie tried to reach out for her lost weapon, but was cut off by a second werewolf, plunging its teeth into her free hoof.

The pain of the bite was of far greater intensity than anything she’d ever experienced before. She tried to scream and give herself some tiny relief to her agony; but she couldn’t. The pressure of the wolf on her chest was so great, breathing was becoming more laborious by the second.

If Trixie didn’t do something now, this would be the end.

Even as her vision began to blur, she forced herself to concentrate on the werewolf in front of her. It didn’t matter that she was running out of magic. Magic or no magic, she was going to save Applejack, just as she swore to do when accepting this mission. With all her remaining strength, she pushed magic through her horn, preparing to blast her way out.

She didn’t get to cast that spell.

At that moment, a wildcard returned play; Timberjack.

With a ferocity equal to that of the attacking werewolves, Timberjack slammed herself into the creature holding Trixie down, slashing open its throat with a flurry of mad swipes.

“Pack traitor!” a Werewolf screamed, pouncing on Applejack’s tail while the other swiped at her hind legs.

Yet instead of Timberjack faltering, the werewolf’s bones snapped on impact. The beast’s pained yelps lasted only a moment, Timberjack spinning around and crushing its neck in a single blow. Before its companion could react, Timberjack reversed her attack, smacking the werewolf in the chin, the beast’s jaws shattering with the force.

Now it was down to the final three, howling with a bloodthirsty cackle as they charged Timberjack with no further hesitation.

As before, Timberjack mirrored the werewolves’ ferocity with a feral snarl, charging headlong into their assault. All three wolves pounced the moment they were in reach, the dislocation of their paws on impact doing little to stop them scraping at Timberjack’s bark skin with everything they had.

For this persistence, Timberjack repaid them harshly.

Dropping to her knees, Timberjack channelled her strength through her limbs, building it up with each scrape of her enemy’s claws. When her patience ended, Timberjack shoved herself up, sending the werewolves toppling over onto their backs, their spines snapping on impact.

Their broken backs did not, however, end Timberjack’s assault. Plunging her claws into the underbellies of each, she tore away at their flesh with manic energy, covering her claws in their blood as she disembowelled the werewolves.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, kept herself aloft, away from the massacre. The grisly scene recalled something Trixie told her following the Ursa Major fight: despite her rage, there was always a piece of her remaining in her mind, no matter how much she was Flutterbat on the outside.

If Timberjack, as Ebony called her, was truly a monster, then Trixie would have been the first to die. She had no doubt Applejack was still in there. The real question was: how to bring Applejack back to the surface of Timberjack?

Until she could figure this out, she would have to keep Timberjack alive. A task made more urgent by the sight of Trixie shakily holding the silver stake in her magic, limping towards the target of her mission.

“Trixie, no!” Fluttershy yelled in protest, diving to get Trixie out of harm’s way.

But Trixie was already too close.

Without so much as glancing back at her, Timberjack gave a swift buck to Trixie’s chest.

Trixie’s hat flew off as she slumped onto her back, gasping for air. Landing in front of Trixie, Fluttershy hissed at Timberjack, locking eyes with her former friend.

Before any fight could begin, the smoke bombs hidden away in Trixie’s hat exploded, shrouding the hillside in a thick blanket of grey smoke.

“My, my, aren’t you a clever pony?” Ebony said with a bemused sneer. “Not that it matters. Now you will see why many know me as the Nightmare Lord!”

Those last two words spoken came out as a deep, powerful echo that triggered Ebony to transform. What emerged from the smoke a moment later was worlds apart from the one that had entered it.

Ebony’s transformed features were almost identical to that of Timberjack, with a few noticeable exceptions. For one, her size was double that of a timber wolf, claws and antlers curving to a length of equally monstrous proportions.

Draconic wings sprouted from Ebony’s back, consisting entirely of black, wooden branches and decaying leaves. The most striking feature on the thing Ebony became, however? The same corrupted vines that drained life from the timber wolves now extended down the Ebony’s spine, forming a long, rotten tail - cracking like a giant whip with every swing.

“Trixie? Trixie?!” Fluttershy frantically called, unable to see anything beyond the smoke. “Trixie?! Where are you?”

“Over… over here, Fluttershy!” Trixie’s wheezing voice called out from behind.

Much to Fluttershy’s relief, she hadn’t gone far. “Oh, thank Celestia. Are you okay? Can you still teleport?”

“I-It will be difficult,” Trixie replied, still managing to force one of her trademark cocky smiles. “But Trixie thinks she can give it another go.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll keep Applejack occupied, you just get away from that… thing Ebony has become.”

Visibly fighting to cast her spell, Trixie flared her magic and vanished to parts unknown.

Timberjack, meanwhile, had been left in a state of confusion from the blast. Her senses were buzzing, picking up stimuli from every direction, each one pulling at her desires to seek out the source.

Spinning around on the spot, she processed each piece of sensory information until one presence that stood out from all the others: Fluttershy.

Though she was unable to conceive why, Timberjack felt an intense sense of familiarity in this individual’s voice. Gruff, yet soft spoken. Assertive, yet caring. Concepts which, deep down, Timberjack’s magic had supressed, but not eliminated.

Right now, the feral power of the wolf was in control; compelling her to deal with the feelings directly. Sniffing the air, her ears pricked up as she caught Fluttershy’s scent. Nose to the ground, Timberjack paced her way through the smoke along the scent trail.

Just as the familiar presence came into view, Timberjack ran into another figure; one which loomed over the yellow bat pony just as a third pony disappeared in a flash of light.

The huge figure, she knew, was her pack leader. Her master.
And she would obey.

With a fearsome growl, Timberjack pounced at Fluttershy, knocking her to the ground away from the snap of Ebony’s jaws.

A scream of pain broke from Fluttershy’s lips, the claws of Timberjack shredding into her, leaving deep, bloody gashes across her torso.

“Please, Applejack, don’t make me hurt you!” Fluttershy cried. “I know you’re in there somewhere. I know-”

A swipe to the face silenced her plea, but this didn’t stop her getting up again. This did not mean, however, that she wouldn’t fight back. Even if Fluttershy couldn’t bear to hurt Applejack, Flutterbat was more than happy to knock some sense into her. Flaring her wings and taking to the sky, Fluttershy tapped her limiter gem, releasing her lunar magic.

Undeterred, Timberjack leapt into another tirade of snaps and swipes.

This time, however, Flutterbat was ready for her.

Skewing her wings into opposing angles, Flutterbat’s eyes glowed with power as she banked hard to the right, following up with a swift kick to her opponent’s side.

Timberjack winced, though not for long, as a second later she was spinning round to buck at the bat pony. Flutterbat narrowly dodged the attack, looping around to dive-punch her opponent on the opposite flank.

“Remember who you are!” Flutterbat yelled, her voice growing raspy. “Remember your family: Big Mac, Applebloom and Granny Smith!”

If Timberjack was angry before, the mere mention of the Apple family certainly got under her skin, driving her to jump higher than Flutterbat thought possible, downing her with a swift bite to the wing. Undeterred, Flutterbat continued her brawl, exchanging blow after blow between hisses and growls, refusing to relent while Timberjack kept fighting.

Then, out of the blue, Timberjack spoke. “Don’t you dare talk about mah family like that, monster!”

Flutterbat perked up. Was that Applejack who had just spoken?

As tempted as she was to respond, she shook her head. Now wasn't the time, as a bigger threat was already waiting for her.

As the smoke of Trixie’s bombs dissipated, the monstrous Ebony now had a clear shot at her. With a lash of her tail, Flutterbat was sent flying, slammed to the ground before she could even think to scream.

“Well done, my dear Timberjack,” Ebony said, her voice dark and foreboding. “You can finally see what I’ve protected you from. Cast your eyes to the scene around you; see how my werewolves defend you with their lives!”

To Fluttershy’s horror, all the werewolves Timberjack slew had risen to their feet, fighting against Trixie by the same magic of the undead harpies.

“This is all the Night Shift want of us; extermination of us, and of our lands!”

“That’s a load of pony feathers, and you know it, Applejack!” Flutterbat snapped. “We love you! We want you to live, free from the corruption Ebony has cursed you with!”

“Oh, pipe down will you?” A stomp from Ebony’s front paws ruptured the earth around Flutterbat, cascading a blast of heavy rocks at her. “What I create is nothing but perfection! The sooner everypony sees that, the better our world will be.”

Timberjack glanced back and forth between Ebony and Flutterbat. “I… I don’t… Argh!” Timberjack screamed in frustration, her head pounding more than ever.

Now it was Trixie’s turn to speak up, her voice echoing from behind an ever-shrinking magic shield. “Listen to Fluttershy carefully, Applejack!” she called, swinging the stake at an undead werewolf the moment her shield dropped. “You’re descended from a lengthy line of farm-ponies. You know what corruption looks like!”

“Why won’t you stop talking?!” Ebony yelled, her words filling the pack with increased vigour to their assaults. “I trust Timberjack’s judgement to make the right choice. It’s you who don’t trust her, babbling about a topic you know nothing about!”

Timberjack remained frozen on the spot. “Ebony… master. Fluttershy… friend?” Dropping to the ground, she grabbed her head in both hooves, another monumental flash of pain shooting through her mind as the two opposing voices screamed at each other.

“Fight it, Applejack!” Flutterbat yelled, wings spread in preparation for Ebony’s next move. “I know you’re in there! You know better than anypony what makes the forest healthy!”

“How many times must I tell you to shut up?!” In a flash of movement—far quicker than Fluttershy thought possible—Ebony rammed her horns into Flutterbat, a wicked grin growing on her face at the sound of crunching ribs. “Timberjack doesn’t need you. She only needs me. My cultivation, my power, and most of all, my world!”

Flutterbat hissed, glaring daggers at Ebony as she flew out of her reach. With another tap of her limiter, Flutterbat burst into a high-speed manoeuvre, flying over Ebony and throwing her hoof at the back of her head.

She didn’t get a second attempt. Ebony parried the attack, effortlessly rebuffing it with her own wings.

Yet Ebony didn’t take flight. She had no need. She had a far more creative method of silencing the annoying insects interfering with her plans.

“You fool,” she said darkly. “You really don’t understand my power, do you? Let me put this as simply as I can: I am in total command of nature. Every spore, every leaf, every blade of grass is at my beckon call. There will be no mercy for those who defy my world!”

Slamming her wings into Flutterbat, Ebony threw her into the air and began to flap. Kicking up a whirlwind, Ebony stripped the leaves off the surrounding trees, her magic hardening the edges until they were razor-sharp.

Trapped in the cyclone, Flutterbat could do nothing to stop the onslaught of a thousand black blades cutting away at her.

Now it was time for Trixie’s punishment. Channelling her magic through the ground, Ebony imbued the decaying flowers with new life; releasing a cloud of fungal spores. In the blink of an eye, Trixie’s legs were covered in a thick, heavy moss; gluing her in place.

With nowhere to run, Trixie was a sitting duck. Seizing the moment, the undead werewolves pounced, stopped only from flaying Trixie’s flesh from her bones by the faint glimmer of a shielding spell.

And there Timberjack stood, watching it all.

To those on the outside, Applejack’s physical expression remained blank. But deep within her mind, she stared at where the mental door once was – mortified at the sight of what she had become. The last time she was here, she had locked the wolf away; chained in the back of her mind, bound to her will. But now? Now, she was the one who was trapped, the dark roots shooting out from all directions to bind her limbs.

All the while, the entrancing gaze of Ebony Star loomed overhead. This time, there was no door. Instead, the wolf sat underneath a grand stone archway, perched upon its throne of thorns.

No matter how much Applejack squirmed, the roots just squeezed tighter, controlling her limbs like a puppet on strings.

“There is no escaping the will of the Nightmare Lord,” the wolf said, its lips pulled back into a joyous snarl. “I told you, Applejack. I was always destined to take control.”

Still Applejack continued to squirm, a stubborn anger burning in her soul. She had no idea how long she had been fighting; all she remembered was greeting Fluttershy, and then, nothing. Despite the roots holding her snout shut, she still tried to speak, flexing her jaw to loosen the bindings by any amount, however small.

“Why do you keep resisting?” the wolf growled, forcing Applejack to mirror the swipe of its paw. “You made me stronger. You accepted Ebony’s gift without question. Why do you persist in fighting the inevitable?”

Applejack vocalised another furious grumble. The wolf’s words contradicted everything Ebony had been teaching her. Everything she’d done to keep herself sane, fighting for the preservation of the forest? All of it was being undone, her body cut up and served on a silver platter for the wolf to play with as it liked.

Ebony…

Was she really who she claimed to be? Applejack needed answers, yet the usurping wolf denied them all, endlessly repeating the same mantra about ‘destiny’. The only way for this to end, she realized, was to fight the wolf with every ounce of strength she had – to remember who she really was.

Fluttershy.

The image of the yellow Pegasus flashed in her mind for the briefest of seconds; just long enough for Applejack to grab the image and fix it in place. Fluttershy had found her in the orchid, rousing Applejack from her slumber. The look on her face was one of concern. Wide eyes looking down at her, eyebrows arched and mouth open in a gasp. A quiver in her high-pitched voice; fear. Over what? Over Applejack’s safety?

Had Ebony ever shown a similar concern? Well, she was confident in Applejack’s abilities. No, that didn’t answer the question. Did Ebony show concern towards the wellbeing over any members of her pack?

No.

In fact, what emotions did she show? Joy over success? A strict glare to keep ponies in line? That wasn’t kindness. That was more akin to the judgemental stares of the high-class poinies at one of Rarity’s fashion shows. The two expressions were nothing alike.

Looking back to the image of Fluttershy, it occurred to Applejack that she looked different. She hadn’t had time to fully process it before, but now? She looked… how could Applejack put it?

Darker? More beastly? Her facial features were sharper, more angled, especially her ears. Her coat was darker too. And her wings: gone were the soft, gentle fluttering of Pegasus feathers, replaced with the harsh, calculated strokes of bat wings. Was Fluttershy truly the monster Ebony claimed her to be? She certainly looked the part.

Comparing the two images of Fluttershy, Applejack knew that anypony could take one look at her exterior and cry ‘monster’! Yet, there was one subtle similarity that remained unchanged.

It was that look. There could be no doubt; she was worried sick about Applejack! How long had she taken to find her, this deep in the Everfree Forest? It was easy to figure out that Trixie had dragged her into this adventure. Could she have used Fluttershy to track down and kill her friend, insisting that this creature was no longer Applejack?

Oh, sweet Celestia… The full realization of what was going on finally dawned on Applejack. The wolf, the one Ebony had claimed to be for her to control, it was using her body to attack her friends. That was when Trixie fought back. That’s when Fluttershy showed her darker side. How many opportunities did they have to kill her? This was all wrong, a deception, a lie.

“You’re darn tootin’ I’m not gonna be givin’ up!” Applejack yelled at the wolf, snapping her mouth free from the roots. “An’ if you think I’m gonna be a weapon for some mangey mutt to attack my friends, then you’ve got another thing comin’!”

What the wolf did next, Applejack did not expect. It glanced up at Applejack and stepped down from its throne of thorns.

“Well, well. This is a surprise. The little pony still has fight left in her.” The wolf casually strode up to Applejack and caressed her chin. “A pity your body isn’t as mobile as your mouth. Otherwise, you may actually be able to do something.”

“You really think you’re so smart, doncha?” Applejack sneered back. “Well I ain’t lettin’ you hurt my friends anymore. Go on, try it. I double dare ya!”

“Well, if you insist.” Looking up to the image of Fluttershy, the wolf licked its lips.

Applejack offered no further rebuttal, her hard gaze locked on the wolf.

Crouching down, the wolf flicked its tail as it prepared to unleash Applejack’s body on the yellow lunar Pegasus. Yet when it launched itself at the image, its jaws phased straight through, crunching down on its tongue instead.

“What?!”

“I best be thankin’ ye for that move,” Applejack said, a satisfied grin growing across her face. “Now that I got feelin’ in my own body again, I think it’s high time I take back what’s mine.”

“No, no, no! You can’t do this!” the wolf screamed, desperately scratching at Applejack’s face. Its attack fell short, the roots around Applejack coming loose and lashing out at the wolf instead; dragging it back through the arch as the stone door reformed. “You cannot get rid of me, no matter how many times I am subdued! I will be back, and I will regain control, because I am you!”

“And that’s where you got it all wrong, mister wolf.” Now it was Applejack’s turn to give the snarky response. “You may be part o’ me, but you ain’t never gonna be me! I ain’t your puppet. I am Applejack; proud member of the Apple Family and Element of Honesty!”

But for all of Applejack’s boasting, she was not entirely free from the vines yet. Most had switched back to the wolf, but many remained bound around Applejack’s legs.

As Applejack looked up to the void where Ebony’s eyes once shone, a new, more familiar image had taken its place.

Fluttershy panted heavily with exhaustion. Ebony’s assault had been unrelenting, battering her this way and that while leaving no openings to retaliate. Sure, she had managed to score a few scrapes here and there, but in comparison to her countless bruises and excruciating pain? It was like night and day.

Trixie looked to be suffering the most, her muscles burning as her lungs worked over time to replenish the oxygen she had exhaled from constantly running away from werewolves—not to mention the magic she expended escaping from Ebony’s traps—all the while trying to keep a steady hoof free to fire her crossbow.

Two werewolves remained, the others still reforming. With a lucky ricochet off a tree to her left, Trixie’s last silver bolt cut clean through its throat. With all her energy spent, both physical and magical, Trixie’s eyes began to blur. Her knees buckled under her own weight and she swayed from side to side. After over thirty minutes of none-stop fighting, she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

“Trixie!” Fluttershy called, her voice cracking as she tried to escape from Ebony’s clutches. As much as she wished it wasn’t so, she couldn’t deny that she, too, was spent. It took a monumental effort just to move any of her six limbs, repaid with the crushing weight of Ebony’s claws slamming her back down.

“How pathetic,” Ebony sneered, exhaling an exaggerated sigh. “I thought you were supposed to be the cavalry, galloping in to save Applejack from the evil clutches of that nasty witch who brainwashed her.”

“I…I’m…” Fluttershy strained every muscle she could to move, but nothing seemed to comply. “I’m... not… finished…”

“Oh, so you’re comedian as well as a vampire?” Ebony replied with mocking laughter. Yet as she prepared to squash the bat pony once and for all, she noticed something glimmer from around Flutterbat’s neck. “What do we have here?”

“No!” Fluttershy threw her hooves around the limiter gem. Without it, there was no telling what she could end up doing to Applejack.

“This is too perfect!”

Fluttershy couldn’t believe her ears. Was Ebony giggling?

“I have to admit, I was wondering why a bat pony outside the Night Guard hadn’t turned feral yet. But now that I know, I think you will provide a perfect addition to my ranks.”

“Never…” Fluttershy said weakly.

“I’m afraid it’s out of your hooves, my dear Fluttershy. You and your friend may have caused a small setback, but with both you and Applejack as my loyal servants? Why, you’ve practically gift-wrapped everything I need to destroy your so-called ‘civilisation’.”

“And what in the name o’ Great Uncle Apple is that supposed ta mean?”

Flutterbat didn’t think it was possible, but the colour drained from Ebony’s face.

“Oh, Ah-ah-Applejack, my dear!” she stuttered, shedding her monster form like it was a sweaty robe after several hours in a sauna. “What a surprise! I was so worried that you’d never recover from that nasty spell the blue unicorn cast on you. Why, just look what she did to my precious wolf pack! If I hadn’t subdued this yellow one, who knows what she could have done to you?”

“Uh-huh.” Applejack cocked an eyebrow. Much like Fluttershy, she retained the physical features of Timberjack, but her clear eyes showed which mind was in control. “And would that be why you’re standin’ on top o’ my friend? The one who looks like she’s been beaten within an inch of her life?”

Ebony pulled back her hoof, sweat dribbling down the side of her face. “Like I said, it was a matter of self-defence! You know how long the Night Shift have been hunting our kind. Just look at the gem around her neck; she’s clearly being mind-controlled by the blue unicorn, one of the Night Shift’s top agents.”

Applejack glanced behind her, spitting out a sharp growl to stop the undead werewolf from gnawing on Trixie’s leg. “And if I’m supposed ta believe you, perhaps you could tell me the name o’ this ‘top agent’, as you put it? ‘Cause it seems ta me like you two have a history that you’re not tellin’ me about.”

“Well… you see... it’s… it’s…”

“It is the Great and Powerful: Trixie!”

The unmistakable rolling of the r’s announced to everypony that Trixie had returned to the waking world; unable to resist a chance to stroke her ego. “The Night Shift has been after you for some time. However, to denote a long personal history with Trixie would be one of your biggest lies yet!”

“I think it’s time we all got the truth from you, doncha think, Ebony?”

Fluttershy opened her mouth but found herself lost for words.

“I’m waitin’, Ebony. I know you’ve been spinnn’ lies like no tomorrow. So, start talkin’!”

Ebony began to back away, drooping her head to hide her expression. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Fluttershy’s thought she heard a tiny giggle escaping from Ebony’s lips – though it was too quiet to be certain.

Suddenly, Ebony broke into fit of mad laughter. “You really are a special one, aren’t you, Applejack?” she cackled. “Very well. You want to know my ultimate plan? I shall spell it out to you! Though I suspect you may have figured it out already.”

Ebony gestured around her, inhaling with a long, snorting sniff. “To put it simply; I desire anarchy. A return to the primal state Equestria once was; before your so-called ‘civilisation’ usurped the natural order!”

“An’ amongst all that preachin’ of yours, did you ever stop ta think that maybe you were doin’ more harm than good?”

Ebony let out a long, exasperated sigh. “Oh, Applejack. I had such high hopes for you. Alas, it seems that you, like so many others, are stuck embracing the false promises of ‘friendship’. You could have so easily seen the glory of order-”

Ebony’s rant was cut short by a sound nopony had expected to hear; barking.

“Winona!”

From out of the blackness, the brown border collie charged at Ebony, snapping her jaws around Ebony’s rear hoof.

“Argh!” Ebony cried, kicking Winona in the jaw and stomping on her front paw. “Stupid mutt. Do you have a death wish?”

“No, Winona!” Tears bursting from her eyes, Applejack threw her front legs around her beloved pet and hugged her tight. “It’s been so long…”

Despite her attack, Winona was still visibly weaker. Her boisterousness had gone, replaced by an emaciated, drooling canine covered in rough, bark-like skin – not dissimilar to Timberjack’s own.

Branches sprouted at random from all areas of Winona’s body, growing and shedding leaves as if stuck in a perpetual cycle of the seasons.

The parasitic earth pony magic was consuming her.

“What the buck did you do to her?!” Applejack swore, her fur bristling with rage.

“While I do admit she is a little unstable,” Ebony replied, piecing back together her calm demeanour, “she is what you could easily be: a force of nature! Perhaps now you will see sense?”

With a violent roar, Applejack threw herself at Ebony, knocking her clean off her hooves.

In a snap, Ebony struck back, transforming back into her timber wolf form to return the enraged swipes. Blow after blow, the two werewolves fought each other, exchanging all manner of wounds in their desperate bid to overcome the other.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, forced herself up, limping towards Trixie as fast as her legs would allow. Though she was awake, Fluttershy could tell Trixie was not in a good state.

The signs of magic exhaustion were unmistakable. Her whole body looked withered from the strain; her skin taut and her mane dishevelled, giving the appearance of aging thirty years in a day.

“Fluttershy…” Trixie rasped, tentatively raising a front hoof and pointing behind her. “The wolf…”

Fluttershy all but jumped out of her skin, having forgotten about the one remaining undead werewolf.

What Fluttershy didn’t expect to see was the last of Ebony’s pack rooted to the ground, staring into oblivion as its magic drained away.

“M-magic…” Trixie sputtered. “Ebony… she is low on magic. The transformation uses most of it, so she has to get it elsewhere.”

One look at the surrounding area gave credence to this notion.

Rather than the dark, twisted mesh of red and black flora, everything was starting to turn to grey, the bodies of the fallen werewolves decaying at an accelerated rate. Notifiable streaks of glowing red magic became the soul record of the forest’s former vibrancy.

“Trixie?” Fluttershy asked. “Is it possible to absorb magic from items?”

“Well, of course! That’s the basic concept of magic limiters.” Trixie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “It depends on the potency, but disenchanting is rarely complex. Although the item is destroyed in the process…” she trailed off as Fluttershy’s plan dawned on her. “Fluttershy, you’re not doing what I think you’re doing?”

“We don’t have a choice!” Fluttershy stated, never having sounded so serious in her life. “Unless we help Applejack, she could… Ebony could…”

Fluttershy didn’t need to say another word. Closing her eyes, Trixie reached deep inside of herself, searching for whatever last vestiges of magic still lingered. It took nearly a full minute of searching, but she found something. The aura was dim, but it was there.

Concentrating as hard as she could, Trixie cast a beam of arcane magic, arching from her horn to the power limiter, bouncing off it all the way to Applejack.

As the pendant began to crack, Applejack rebuffed Ebony’s attack, letting out a long, bellowing howl as her features shifted further towards a wolf. Raw magic crackled around her body, amplifying the werewolf powers to be turned on its creator.

Initially, little changed about the brawl, neither werewolf submitting.

Yet as Fluttershy and Trixie watched on, it quickly became evident that, while Applejack’s attacks maintained a constant rate, Ebony’s was slowing. With each hit Applejack endured, Ebony’s stamina became increasingly drained, giving Applejack ample room for her counter attacks.

Bucking and clawing through her guard, Applejack shattered Ebony’s bark piece by piece; revealing the soft skin underneath. While the fight was drifting into Applejack’s favour, Fluttershy knew that Applejack would need a deeper stratagem to win.

By the way Applejack shifted her attack priorities to blocks and parries, Fluttershy reasoned that analysing weak points would be too much of a distraction.

“Had enough, already?” Ebony gloated, her confident tone contradicted by her rigid stance and frequent cringing. “You should have known it was foolish to challenge your master! I will make good use of you once my wild kingdom is rebuilt!”

Applejack didn’t reply, instead churning Ebony’s words over in her head. She had a distinct feeling that she was missing something about Ebony. Something that made her powerful beyond any earth pony in existence.

With the Ebony’s constant attacks, the soreness in Applejack’s limbs was becoming increasingly noticeable, despite the earth pony magic bestowed upon her.

Earth pony magic! The idea struck her like a thunderbolt, an invigorating burst of energy that knocked Ebony back several paces.

“You may be strong, but let’s see if you can outrun the three-times ‘Runnin’ of ta Leaves’ grand champion!” Shaking her tail in Ebony’s face, Applejack bounded away.

As expected, Ebony took the bait. “Don’t think you can win through childish games! I made you! Without me, you are nothing!”

Springing away from her friends, Applejack weaved her way through the trees, timing her steps to land between trunks whenever Ebony attacked – the Nightmare Lord’s gloating never stopping.

Applejack recognised this behaviour pattern. Rainbow Dash showed it all the time; losing focus under the weight of frustration. Pacing herself, she continued her dance around the hill, leaving a pile of shattered logs in her wake. With each shift in direction, she counted the number of seconds between Ebony’s attacks. The rate of fall was gradual, but that didn’t matter. Applejack had patience on her side; something which Ebony severely lacked.

Focusing magic through her hooves, Applejack felt the crunch of broken bark beneath her. She was part of the earth, part of the world, just as much as any living thing that inhabited the Everfree forest.

That was Ebony’s biggest flaw. For as much as she raved about ponies destroying nature, she didn’t know them like Applejack did.

For the first time in Celestia knew how long, Applejack remembered her home. She saw the long stretches of rolling hills behind her, the green of the apple tree leaves that glittered in the summer dawn. Most of all, she could practically taste ripe, red apples on her lips - the livelihood and legacy of her family.

She cultivated it. Cared for it. Pouring her heart and soul into maintaining its sustainability. She would toil day and night to provide food for the citizens of Ponyville, while working alongside Fluttershy to conserve the local wildlife.

Ebony was no master of nature. That honour belonged to Applejack, along with everypony who ever cared about the harmony of Equestria. And within it all, her family and friends were always there, supporting her life passionately.

With a stomp of her hooves, Applejack launched the fallen tree trunks from the ground, stabbing through Ebony’s exposed armour and skewering her to the spot.

Ebony’s eyes went wide, a single gasp of breath escaping her lips before the full realization hit.

“N-no…” she wheezed, blood gurgling in her throat from punctured lungs. “You… you cannot defeat me…”

“Sorry, but I think I already did.”

As Applejack turned around, an ear-splitting howl erupted from the Nightmare Lord’s mouth, so intense it shook the ground. Beams of red magic exploded from her body at every angle, her corrupted magic bursting free and swirling around her in a raging vortex – consuming every loose object that got sucked in.

Throwing herself to the ground, Applejack narrowly dodged the initial explosion’s debris and dug her claws into the earth, dragging herself away from the wild magic storm. Though she had escaped unharmed, Applejack had no clue about the fate of her friends.

Pulling herself back up, Applejack scanned the area for any sign of her friends. Abandoning all thoughts of her own safety, she soldiered on against the chaotic tide, refusing to leave the forest without her friends; alive or dead.

As a familiar flash of pink caught her eye, Applejack pushed herself through the crackling winds, her pace unflinching.

Her heart sunk when she reached her friends. Their bodies limp and their eyes closed.

But there was one sight which alleviated her fears; Winona.

Despite her emaciated state, she sat between the unconscious ponies, gently licking their faces as she cuddled against their steady rising and falling chests.

“Winona!” Applejack called, throwing her arms around her beloved dog once more. “Boy, am I glad you’re alive an’ kickin’. Think you can help me wrangle these two and high-tail it outta here?”

Winona barked ecstatically, bobbing her head towards the rotten vines which held her friends in place.

With no time to waste, Applejack bucked down a couple of trees and tied them together using the vines which covered them. Less than two minutes after the manna storm began, Applejack was using all her might to haul her friends away from the danger zone on a makeshift sled, leaving Ebony behind.

“Are you certain you judged the time correctly?” A buff, elder Bat Pony asked, his face baring the scars and wrinkles from the many years of Night Guard servitude. “I needn’t remind you both about the time tracking challenges when traversing the Everfree.”

“I’m as certain of this as I’m of my phantom wing sensation,” Moonlight replied, retracing their steps towards Trixie and Fluttershy’s last known location. “Believe it or not, those two ponies took down an Ursa Major no more than two days ago. Both I and Spectre have no doubt our allies are still alive.”

The commander raised an eyebrow. “You’re lucky that we’re obligated to investigate this magic storm. Because if you’re wrong, you two will be the first to explain to the Ponyville hospital Children’s ward why all the unicorns have cracked horns!”

“You have our word, sir,” Spectre added. “Everything we told you is accurate. I’ve never been wrong about dating magical anomalies before.”

“There’s a first time for every-”

“Sir, look!” Another lunar unicorn cried. “Dead ahead!”

From out of the undergrowth, an orange-coated earth pony staggered towards the Night Guard squad. Dragging behind her—laying flat on a sled made of charred tree trunks—there was a blue unicorn, a yellow Pegasus, and what looked like something between a border collie and a timber wolf.

“Fluttershy! Trixie!” Moonlight gasped, galloping at full speed to their friends. “And you, you must be-”

“Applejack, yeah, pleasure to meet you,” Applejack said, breathing heavily as she swayed back and forth on her hooves. “Could use a little… little help from… from you fine… folks…”

Moonlight caught Applejack as she fainted. “Commander Eclipse, get the unicorns to set up a teleportation matrix, now! We need to get these four some medical attention at Night Shift HQ.”

“Are you trying to usurp my rank, Moonlight Hunter?”

“Just do it!” Spectre snapped, rushing over to his partner’s side. “There’s no time to bicker about hierarchies!”

Clearing his throat, Commander Eclipse turned to the mixed squad of lunar and solar unicorns. “You heard what the pony said; set up a portal directly to base, stat!”

Eclipse then turned his gaze out into the distance, thinking to himself; What the buck happened out there?

A pleasant, familiar smell filled Applejack’s nose as she returned to the waking world. Feeling the soft surface beneath her hooves, she fluttered her eyes open to find herself still surrounded by nature.

Standing up, she found she had been sleeping on a bed of straw, inside a small cave with a cool breeze gently flowing through.

The cave wasn’t very big; about four times Applejack’s height and twice as wide. The broad, arched opening allowed the gentle morning sun to beam in – something which she had sorely missed with the perpetual twilight of the Everfree. Trotting out, she found herself in a broad meadow, filled with lush green grass and a gentle spattering of yellow flowers across low rolling hills.

Across the first hill, Applejack could see Fluttershy, sat in a circle of rabbits and other assorted critters – including Winona, cured of her affliction and sleeping peacefully.

“Oh, good morning, Applejack,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile, a trio of field mice resting between her wing feathers. “I’m glad to see you’re finally awake. I was just telling my new animal friends what an awful strain you put yourself under to get us back here. How are you feeling?”

“Not too shabby, if I do say myself,” Applejack replied, stretching her limbs. “But what do you mean when you say I got y’all ‘back here’? Where is ‘back here’, exactly?”

“We’re in the Night Shift headquarters, of course,” Fluttershy answered with a small giggle. “I must admit, I was quite confused when I woke up in here, too.”

“Wait, Night Shift? What in tarnation is-” Applejack stopped herself mid-sentence, a rush of memories flooding back. Her first transformation, her mind control under Ebony, and the brutal one-on-one duel that brought about her master’s end.

Looking back over the scenery, she realized that the meadow ended abruptly against a large pane of transparent glass. Beyond that threshold, she saw many Lunar Pegusi and Unicorns scuttering about their business.

Flicking her head back and forth between the meadow and the countless lab blocks beyond the pane, she gawked back at Fluttershy, lost for words.

“It’s best not to think about,” Fluttershy said, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. “Night Shift magic is quite a special thing. They could fit the whole of Canterlot in here if they needed to! Though I don’t envy the unicorns who would make that happen. Those poor ponies worked all day and all night to make this recovery cell especially for us.”

“So, you’re sayin’ they made all this… to help us?” Applejack trotted over to the glass and parked herself in front, staring at her front hooves. “But what about the… y’know, werewolf thing?”

“Oh, not to worry, Jackie,” another familiar voice spoke from the opposite side, though this one wasn’t quite as friendly. “The Great and Powerful: Trixie, has taken care of everything. You will be under the care of the Night Shift for now.”

“So, does that mean I’m not a werewolf anymore?”

“Um, sorry, Applejack,” Fluttershy said softly, avoiding eye contact. “Just as I’m still a vampire bat pony, you’re still a werewolf. It just needs to be managed every month.”

“Trixie must admit, she never expected to have such an important duty in providing you with control potions.”

She had been awake for less than five minutes, and already Applejack was starting to become irritated with Trixie’s third person self-aggrandizing. Though she had to admit, Trixie did have a point.

Applejack vaguely remembered being given a potion. It was sometime between passing out in front of the Night Guard and waking up in the meadow – though it was still a hazy picture.

“And Trixie got this knowledge from somepony else, didn’t she?” Another, friendlier voice approached Trixie from behind – to which Trixie huffed like a school filly, turning her nose up at the lavender unicorn.

“Trixie will have you know, Sparkler, that she is quite capable of concocting all kinds of chemical mixtures.”

“Twilight!” Applejack called, pressing her hooves against the window. Had it not been for the obstruction, she wouldn’t have hesitated in batting Trixie aside to hug Twilight. “Am I ever glad ta see you! This whole ‘Night Shift’ business is givin’ me quite the headache. Maybe you could explain a thing or two ta me.”

“I can certainly try, Applejack,” Twilight replied with a giggle, her face flushing red. “But first we need to take care of some business. I’ve passed on this official story to your family: You fell ill while searching for Winona and are resting in Canterlot Hospital for specialist care. If all the testing goes well, you’ll be able to return to Ponyville within the week.”

Applejack squirmed and bit her lip. “Twilight, you know as well as I do that I don’t like lyin’. Especially when it’s to my family.”

“I know, Applejack,” Twilight replied sombrely. “Though technically speaking, you were ill in the Everfree forest, and you were taken to a hospital in Canterlot. So, what I said wasn’t technically a lie, was it?”

“Hmmm,” Applejack pondered, rubbing her chin with her hoof. “I guess not. Still, I feel uneasy keepin’ only a half-truth ta myself.”

“Ugh, you are so pedantic, Applejack,” Trixie groaned. “Haven’t you been doing so for some time already, regarding Twilight’s involvement with the Night Shift? Not to mention the whole business with Decadence.”

Both Applejack and Fluttershy shuddered at the name. They had both tried hard to forget all about Decadence, but they could no longer deny there were those who sought to usurp that monster.

But again, she had to admit that, despite her obnoxiousness, Trixie did have a point. “Well, I suppose as long as it all ain’t difficult between us, then what the Apple family don’t know can’t hurt them.”

“Trixie knew you would see things from her perspective,” Trixie smirked at Twilight. “Something she thinks would benefit other Night Shift unicorns. Wouldn’t you agree, Sparkler?”

“No need to rub it in, Trixie,” Twilight chuckled, taking Trixie’s boasting in jest. “I freely admit you did a fantastic job at replicating the necessary wild magic affliction potions. All you need to do is practice reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, and maybe a dash of transformative quantum flux powder as well for the taste.”

“Err… say what now?”

“Oh, sorry, Applejack,” Twilight giggled, blushing a little and clearing her throat. “I meant to say that Trixie’s potions didn’t keep your wild magic as stable as regulations dictate. But we can fix that.”

After a few minutes of casual chatter—with Fluttershy helping to fill in the blanks of Applejack’s memory—Twilight clapped her hooves together as she remembered something she was supposed to return.

“Oh, Applejack! I’ve got a little something for you.” Reaching over to her saddlebag, Twilight pulled out a brown Stetson hat.

“Oh, my great giddy aunt Apple!” Applejack exclaimed, her face lighting up with joy. “You found my hat! I’d almost forgotten about it with this whole wild magic debacle. And it looks as good as new! Thank you, Twilight.”

“Not a problem, Applejack,” Twilight replied, opening the cell door to give Applejack her long awaited hug. “Rarity fixed it up for you the moment Pinkie Pie delivered it. I’m surprised how well she’s balanced pet sitting on the side of her day job at Sugar Cube Corner. Some days I swear there must be more than one of her; like the reflection in the mirror coming life or-”

A persistent beeping sound cut off Twilight before she could ramble any further. “Huh, Two o’clock already? Well, it looks like my lunch break is over. I’d best get back to all the paperwork on the Ebony incident. I’ll need you both to stay in the recovery cell for a day or two longer while we continue to monitor your wild magic levels. Beyond that, don’t hesitate to call if you need anything else. I’ll be around as long as Spike can look after the library.”

“And if Trixie may add one more thing?” Trixie removed her hat, holding it against her chest. “It was quite an adventure with you both, and I’m glad you’re both safe. You’re both good ponies who Twilight deserves to have as friends.”

“Aww, shucks, Trixie,” Applejack replied with bashful chuckle and a wave of her hoof. “I didn’t know you had it in you. And speakin’ in first person, too? This must be my lucky day!”

Trixie snapped her gaze away from Applejack, blushing heavily. “And lucky you should be considered! It’s not often the Great and Powerful Trixie provides such level of compliments.”

“Um, Twilight?” Fluttershy spoke up. “There is one more thing I’d like to ask – um, if that’s okay with you, of course.”

“Sure thing, Fluttershy. What’s up?”

“What exactly happened to Ebony Star? Applejack told me she exploded into a mana storm when she died.”

“Come ta think of it,” Applejack added. “I saw the magic bursts breakin’ out of her, but nothin’ afterwards. Did she die?”

Twilight and Trixie looked at each other for a moment, sharing a nervous expression.

“Well, not exactly…” Twilight trailed off.

Somewhere deep in the lower vaults of the Night Shift containment facility, situated in the maximum-security area, a vault containing a patch of scorched earth lay behind several armed guards and layers of magic barriers.

Inside, the petrified body of what looked to be a half pony, half timberwolf stood; its last moments of terror before being encased in its fossilized tomb captured for only the most authorized eyes to see.

END

Part 1: Call of the Wild

Midnight hour at Sweet Apple acres. After another long day toiling the fields, the Apple family had long since slumped down into their beds, expecting to refresh themselves by next morning. From the occasional owl hoot to rustling of nocturnal critters in the grass, the serenity of this night was typical of any other.

That was, until, the quiet was abruptly shattered as an ear-piercing scream rang throughout the farm, jolting everypony awake.

Applejack bolted upright in her bed, sheets soaked from her sweat. Oh, thank Celestia, she thought to herself. Just another nightmare.

This had been the fifth night in the row she experienced dramatic visions of horror in the dreamscape. From white-faced daemons wearing her face, to bipedal pig-things slaughtering her entire family, it always ended with Applejack snapping back to reality, breathing heavier than if she’d galloped a mile.

Tonight—just like the nights that had preceded it—Princess Luna was nowhere to be seen. Given the recent tragedy that had befallen her family, Applejack had quickly concocted a justification for why the Guardian of Dreams would not revealed herself to her.

I guess it’s been a rough time for all of us, she thought to herself, kicking off the covers and pushing the window open for some fresh air. Poor Winona. Why’d you have ta go and run off inta the Everfree like that.

Every day for the past month, Applejack could see on her family’s faces the toll Winona’s disappearance took. While she and Big Mac managed to put on a brave face and get on with their day to day lives, the same could not be said for Granny Smith.

Alas, it seemed that her mental fortitude had waned significantly in her older years. She had always been a chatty pony, whether explaining the ins and outs of farm routines, or rambling on about the long past days of her youth.

Now? She had spoken barely a word to anypony since Applejack returned, days after chasing down Winona, empty hoofed. The cold chill of guilt sat like a stone in the bottom of Applejack’s gut - and given how Granny Smith isolated herself in the farm house all day, she got the impression the old mare felt the same.

Applebloom’s behaviour wasn’t much better.

Applejack had spoken to Miss Cheerilee about her little sister’s emotional struggles; she, too, had noticed the stark contrast between the bubbly little filly—endlessly chatting away about how she’d get her cutie mark—and the one who now stared vacantly out the window, barely responding to anypony, including her best friends.

When Applejack learned that Applebloom wasn't even spending time with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore—a pair of fillies who meant the word to her—she knew that her sister needed serious help.

The memories of her friends brought a smile to Applejack’s face, momentarily forgetting the terror of her dreams. Over the past week, Applejack had pushed through her constant tiredness to spice things up around the farm. With the Zap Apple harvest coming up in less than a month’s time, she had gotten her friends to pull out all the stops to make this a special one.

Pinkie Pie had fresh new recipes for Zap Apple Cupcakes, while Rainbow Dash would zoom overhead, moulding the clouds into the shape of various pastries. Rarity produced a new line of dresses and jackets for everypony to wear on the day, while Fluttershy orchestrated a little musical number with the local birds.

Even Twilight, when she wasn’t preoccupied with the Night Shift and their giant weasel incident, had created spectacular magical fireworks to celebrate Ponyville’s unique claim to agricultural fame.

“Guess Luna’s also lendin' a hoof ta help Applebloom smile again,” Applejack grumbled to herself. It was a mantra she had repeated since the Night Terrors began. “Better lettin’ me dredge through a few bad nights instead o’ lettin’ Applebloom suffer'.”

Flopping face first into her pillow, she thumped the mattress in frustration. “Sure would be nice if I could get ta see her smile in my dreams as well, Luna!”

A sudden knock on the door startled her, almost making her fall out of bed as she scrambled to her hooves.

“You alright in there, Applejack?” the slow, deep voice of Big Macintosh came from the hallway as he opened the door just a crack. “I heard you screamin’.”

“I’ll... be fine... Big Mac,” Applejack replied, still trying to catch her breath. “Just another... one of them... bad dreams is all.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Big Mac asked, pushing the door open a little more.

“No, I'll be fine. Once I get back to work on the Zap Apple harvest, I’ll have forgotten all about it.”

Big Mac stood in silence for a few moments, a sceptical expression etched on his face. “All right,” he conceded. “Call me in the morning if you need help with anythin'.”

“Thanks, Big Mac,” Applejack said, relaxing a little. “I'll be sure to let you know when I start workin'. You make sure to get a good night's sleep as well, alright?”

“Eyup.” As soon as the door clicked shut, Applejack slumped back into bed and closed her eyes, hoping she could get back to sleep without any more visions of her entire family being killed by bipedal pigs.

That's the last time I stay up watchin' scary movies with Rainbow Dash, she grumbled to herself. She took a few deep breaths, tossed and turned several times—even tried counting sheep—but she just wasn’t dozing off like she thought she would.

Pulling herself up to her windowsill, Applejack drew open the curtains to try a bit of star gazing. If Princess Luna couldn't help her directly, then perhaps the beautiful art of her constellations would ease her troubled mind instead.

Once the night sky became visible, there was only one celestial object that drew Applejack’s attention. More than just taking an interest in its details, she found the soothing glow to be quite entrancing; so much so that she couldn't take her eyes off it.

Her heart began to pound in her chest, her whole-body trembling at the sight of the magnificent full moon.

“Applejack? Applejack?”

Applejack awoke to the sound of somepony calling her name, the squeaky voice growing more distressed with each repetition.

Though she was conscious enough to hear this cry, it took a little longer for her awareness to completely resume.

Her hearing was the first to return to normal levels, revealing the familiar, yet unexpected sounds of crunching dry leaves beneath the trotting hoofsteps, adding to the frantic chattering of birds directly above her.

Her sense of touch promptly followed, revealing to her not to be laying upon the soft bedding that she was used to, but instead the cold hard earth.

Pulling herself to her hooves, Applejack narrowly avoided slamming her head onto a low-lying tree branch, at which point she noticed that not only had her pony tail had come loose, but that her Stetson hat was nowhere to be seen.

“Applejack!” Fluttershy cried, breaking onto a full-on gallop towards her groggy friend. “What happened? Are you alright?”

“Ugh... I... what?” Applejack grumbled incoherently, trying to coordinate her lips with the words forming in her mind. “F-Fluttershy? What're you doin' here? As a matter of fact, where is here? I don't remember bein' a sleepwalker.”

Fluttershy cringed at the volume of her friend's voice. “Um... no, actually,” she said meekly, scraping her hoof on the ground as she averted her gaze. “I was just visiting around to check up on you, and I, uhm, kind of found you here?”

Applejack took a deep breath, glancing around the orchid where she lay. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves, hoping to focus her thoughts a bit and clear her vision; which was still fading in and out of focus thanks to one of the biggest migraines she had ever experienced.

“Sorry, Fluttershy,” she said. “I didn't mean to yell like that. I must've started apple buckin' real early and ended up dozin’ off. You know how it is, with Zap Apple harvest comin’ up soon an’ all that.”

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. “I'm glad you're okay. Big Mac said he couldn't find you anywhere in the house this morning, and you never miss breakfast. I guess we were all more than a little worried, given the stress you've been under lately.”

“Don't you fret, Fluttershy. I was havin' trouble sleeping last night anyway. I’m guessing this heavy work did its job a little too well, huh?” Applejack rubbed the back of her head with her front hoof, reminding herself of one big question that remained unanswered.

“Hey, wait a second. Where the hay did my hat go?”

“Huh? Oh, Big Mac has it,” Fluttershy replied, looking slightly confused. It was almost unheard of for Applejack to leave the house without her hat. In fact, Applejack was almost never seen without it, period – so much so that Rainbow Dash had even joked it may as well be attached to her head. “You must have left without it-”

“Horse apples!” Applejack snapped, though she forced that flash of anger back down when she noticed Fluttershy cringing.

“I mean; I never leave the house without it. Not even when Twilight shot it full o' holes by accident with one of her fancy unicorn spells. You remember that, right? Rarity nearly fainted just lookin' at the thing! I must’ve been more tired than a hibernatin' muskrat in the middle o' winter if I forgot to put it on the second I got out of bed.”

Fluttershy giggled. “Perhaps you should come inside for breakfast. Pinkie Pie is waiting for you back in the kitchen. When I told her about what happened to Winona, she insisted on baking what she called a 'Super-Happy-Cheer-Up-Applejack-and-family- with-best-pancakes-ever' breakfast for everypony.”

“You know, Fluttershy, if you'd spoken that any faster, I'd be startin' to wonder if you were really just Pinkie Pie in a costume!” Applejack let out a hearty chuckle.

Fluttershy let out a small smile in return, blushing bright red. They both knew that such a concept wouldn’t have been the silliest thing the master Party Pony had done this year – not by a long shot.

After a few wobbly steps forward, Fluttershy extended a wing out to help Applejack steady herself. As she did, she glanced back at the tree her friend had been sleeping against.

A shiver down her spine.

“Fluttershy? Is somethin’ wrong?” Applejack asked.

“Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I haven't really been sleeping well either. I think I'll take a nice long nap once I've fed all my animal friends.”

“Sounds like a fine idea to me, sugarcube. Y’all can take it easy and leave all the physical stuff to me.”

“Don't forget to give yourself plenty of breaks as well.”

“I know, I know. I’d rather not be fallin' asleep in the dirt anyway. It ain't exactly good for my back, that's for darn sure!”

Fluttershy chuckled, the duo carefully making their way back to the farmhouse, leaving behind what appeared to be a large claw-mark scraped into the apple tree.

“Watch and be amazed by the fabulous illusions of... The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

It had been over a month since the zap apple harvests, and any rumours about Applejack's odd behaviour had been reduced to little more than whispers in the wind. Nightmare Night was just around the corner, so if there was any time for Trixie to make her grand re-entrance to Ponyville, now would be it.

Under the banner of “The Great and Powerful Trixie's humble and not at all egotistical magic show”—a name that she insisted was simply a working title—she at last had a second prance to rebuild her shattered reputation.

But, of course, there was another, far more important reason for her return to Ponyville.

With a twirl of her star-lined cape, the head of a volunteer magically appeared in a box, separated from his body by at least five feet. Another flash of magic, and in the place of that pony's body, a ferocious manticore revealed itself to a chorus of shocked gasps and astonished chatter.

“Head of a lion, wings of a dragon, tail of a scorpion,” Trixie announced to the crowd with an exaggerated sense of drama. “The perfect combination to make one of the deadliest beasts in all of Equestria!”

Waving her hoof over her wizard's hat, she pulled out a heavy leather whip and—with one flick—wrapped it around the box containing the volunteer’s head.

With a sharp tug, the box flew towards the wide-open jaws of the hungry manticore; happily accepting the unsuspecting volunteer as a free meal.

At the last second, the door to Manticore container slammed shut, the imagination of the audience causing greater shock than any real amount of gore could.

“And now, for the grand finale!” With a crack of the whip, the door swung open again, revealing an empty space where both the pony and manticore had been.

“I'm sure you are all wondering what happened to my volunteer,” Trixie said, gesturing her hoof over the crowd. “To find out that answer, all you have to do is turn around.”

On cue, the crowd all looked behind them, witnessing the orange earth pony volunteer standing tall with hardly a scratch on him. A thunderous level of cheering and applause erupted from the crowd, all looking just as amazed at the trick at the volunteering stallion himself.

Taking a bow, Trixie closed the curtains and shut off the lights, bringing her show to a close. The citizens of Ponyville were now well and truly in the mood for the spooky games and hair-raising pranks that came with the traditions of Nightmare Night.

With her former bad reputation now all but forgotten, she could get down to business without causing a fuss from the locals. If what she had been told by her Night Guard superior was true, there was a certain yellow Pegasus pony she needed to have a few words with.

Pouring an assortment of chopped carrots and other vegetables into Angel bunny's bowl, Fluttershy was finally finished giving her animal friends their evening meal. She had spent most of the day with Applejack, sorting out a small, yet annoying, problem with the local Racoons.

She was of course, more than happy to provide a solution that suited all parties involved – it had just taken a little longer than expected, leaving her in a rush to prepare all the food. Thankfully, it hadn't been much of a delay in the end. Her own little menagerie was certainly more patient than the average zoo collection, largely due to Fluttershy's irresistible smile.

Though failing that, there was always the infamous ‘Fluttershy stare’ that would put even Angel bunny into place, which Applejack admitted was more than a little unnerving.

“Nonchalantly glaring at any creature, big or small, until they do your bidding?” Applejack had remarked. “Now if that ain’t the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen a Pegasus do, I don’t know what is. No offence, though.”

Applebloom had made several attempts to mimic the technique, but to no avail, beyond the usual squeak of “Maybe I'll get my cutie mark in animal handling!” rambles. Even if nothing came about it, Fluttershy still took a moment to encourage the little filly to investigate the subject further.

She was finally getting the spring back in her step, having dealt with her grief over Winona. So, a positive hobby was something Applejack agreed to encourage.

Fluttershy had just put away the rabbit food when a series of hurried knocks caught her ear. She froze on the spot, glancing at the date on the calendar which she had been actively trying to ignore. With each successive knock, Fluttershy felt her heart sink until there was nothing but a cold husk of dread gathering in the pit of her stomach.

Taking a long, deep sigh, she forced herself to pace towards the door. She wasn't looking forward to this in the slightest, but just like the last time and the time before it, she knew it was better to just get the whole thing over with.

Before another knock could prod at her mind, Fluttershy pulled the door open, only to realise that her visitor was not the lavender coated unicorn she had expected; but instead a different unicorn, with a much lighter blue colouring, silver hair, and a cutie mark depicting star-topped wand enveloped in wisp of magic.

“Hello, Butter-shy,” Trixie said, her voice oozing condescension.

“Oh, hello Miss Lulamoon,” Fluttershy replied. Though her tone was as soft and gentle as ever, the fact that she was using Trixie's dead name emphasised that she shared the unpleasant attitude of the initial greeting.

“Well, well, well, it seems old Starbutt let slip a few secrets with you after all. Fitting, as now I get to take care of your personal, ahem, special delivery. Mind if Trixie comes in so we can get to work?”

Fluttershy glanced around the immediate area, ensuring that nopony else was watching before allowing Trixie inside. “Where is Twilight anyway? D-did something happen to her?” she asked, her voice shaking a little as she quickly bolted the door behind her.

“Oh, don't worry about old Starbutt,” Trixie waved her hoof in dismissal. Reaching into her saddlebags, Trixie pulled out several glass vials; each one filled with a cloudy, iridescent liquid.

“The Night Shift library is full of recipes for potions like these. It wasn't hard to track it down, and since Starbutt will be out of town with her brother for at least another week, Trixie took the liberty of delivering the goods herself.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. The self-congratulating grin that Trixie pinned to her face was already starting to get on her nerves.

She didn't need to say a word in response, as both she and Trixie knew that Twilight was far too organised to let just anypony get a hold of alchemical materials that she needed for her friends. If she didn't want something to be found, then it would be so well-hidden that even Princess Luna would have great difficulty finding it.

However, of all ponies within the Night Shift who she would expect Twilight to entrust a sensitive delivery with, Fluttershy never considered Trixie to be her first choice. That much was enough to suggest that there was more to Trixie's visit than she was letting on.

“These potions had to get to you one way or another,” Trixie elaborated. “But the Great and Powerful Trixie figured that she would be far more welcome sight than that of a random Lunar Pegasus, wouldn't you agree?”

To that question, Fluttershy had to nod in agreement. After two years of trying her hardest to forget the rise of Decadence, she was not exactly eager to find herself involved with the Night Guards again.

The unspoken repulsion at what she was made to do that night aside, the bite from a single Lunar Pegasus—whom had intended to break the spell on her—had left a rather unpleasant side effect.

Despite her anxiety over what was to come, Fluttershy took a moment to remember how Decadence's magic had done strange things to everypony. So, by comparison, suffering through this brief unpleasantness would feel like a relaxing day at the Ponyville spa.

Once all the liquids had been mixed into a single container—between Trixie checking her notes at regular intervals to ensure she got the order correct—she sealed the vile with a cork and shook the concoction vigorously until it developed a white, frothy surface.

Fluttershy all but snatched the vial from Trixie's hooves, pulling off the cork with her teeth. Though she was eager to get the whole thing over with, she stopped just short of raising the drink to her lips. “Um, Trixie, could you at least turn your back for a minute?”

“Oh, my sweet Flutter Brutter,” Trixie said, her sweeping hoof gesture and exaggerated accent mimicking the mannerisms of Fluttershy's elder brother, Zephyr Breeze, in a mocking fashion.

This was one impression, however, that Fluttershy was not in a hurry to correct. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Even if you don't remember it, Trixie was standing right next to Twilight the night she took you the creature containment unit.

“She spent many a sleepless night toiling over a recipe that would stabilise your lunar curse; and lo and behold, she made something work! Before my very eyes, you were the same, meek little Pegasus pony I had seen so adamantly worshipping her new mother just a week before. It was quite the spectacle!

“You wouldn't want to deny one of Twilight's best and bravest allies from understanding her magical genius, would you?”

Fluttershy couldn't tell if Trixie was genuinely impressed with Twilight's handiwork or was just trying to excuse witnessing her own discomfort first-hoof. Ultimately, she let out a long, exasperated sigh, and decided not to waste any more time. Lifting the vial to her lips, she downed the potion in one gulp.

The effect on her was instantaneous.

Clutching her stomach, Fluttershy collapsed to the floor as the potion worked its way through her system, forcing her eyes shut as she gritted her teeth to endure the pain. Her wings began convulsing wildly, held taut by stiffening muscles as their feathers began to melt away.

Trixie cringed with a combination of horror and morbid fascination, unable to stop watching as the now bare flesh shrivelled up before her eyes. What before was an extended sequence of prehensile wing bones snapped in several places; folding out into four long, finger-like digits.

A cry of pain escaped from Fluttershy's mouth as the skin on her wings stretched out over the skeletal structure - looking so fragile that, to Trixie, even the gentlest touch could pierce straight through them.

A sharp shiver rippled through Fluttershy's body, the colour of her fur fading into a darker, sicklier shade of yellow; growing thicker and coarser as they narrowed around the tips of her ears. Eyelids bursting open, her bloodshot irises glared at Trixie, opening her mouth into a wide sneer that revealed a pair of elongated fangs extending down from her upper jaw.

With the sudden bulking out of her muscles, Fluttershy’s transformation was almost complete - the finishing touch being a flash of black magic consuming her cutie mark, changing it from one of three rose coloured butterflies to that of three magenta bats in an identical formation.

“Fascinating!” Trixie remarked. Levitating a quill with her magic, Trixie began scribbling down a few extra notes, making no effort to hide the full extent of her unashamedly gratuitous passion. “How are you feeling, Butter-shy?”

Even though every inch of her body was aching like mad from the transformation, Fluttershy just about managed to pull herself to her feet, breathing heavily. “Rotten,” she growled. Her body was not the only thing that had changed. Her voice now had a much rougher, more guttural edge to her usually wispy tone “Enjoying...the show...are we?”

“It seems that old Starbutt hasn't quite perfected the potion,” Trixie said, ignoring her last remark. “I guess it's up to the Great and Powerful Trixie to create a less painful method of keeping your feral bat energies under control.”

“Is there anything else you need, Miss Lullamoon?” Fluttershy asked, gritting her teeth in a vain effort to contain her distaste with Trixie's ego stroking. “Or are you just going to sit here and gloat all night?”

“Wow, everyone's a critic,” Trixie rolled her eyes in dismissal. She had almost forgotten how much grumpier the Flutterbat persona was in comparison to her day-to-day personality. “As a matter of fact, Trixie did come for another reason. Fluttershy, I need to ask you for help.”

An awkward silence fell between the two as Fluttershy took a moment to process just what Trixie just said. A pony known best for talking endlessly about how fantastic she was, whom was also one of the veteran members of the Night Shift, suddenly asking a vampire to help? Trixie's discomfort was clear, avoiding eye contact and rubbing her hoof against her opposite front leg.

“What kind of help?” Fluttershy finally asked.

“Help with Applejack.”

Fluttershy's heart sank. She hoped to Celestia that she was just being paranoid about Applejack's strange behaviour last month; dismissing the claw marks as being a product of her own overzealous imagination. After all, once one becomes a supernatural creature, it was far too easy to see the supernatural everywhere, even if a more mundane explanation was sufficient.

But since Trixie brought up the subject without any prior suggestion, there was little doubt that something was seriously wrong. For the sake of Applejack, she simply couldn't reject Trixie's help.

The beautiful glow of the bright full moon shone down through the trees of the Everfree forest. Among the various small animals scurrying among the undergrowth, one little white rabbit sporadically bounced between the trees.

Cautiously peering around the dense foliage, the rabbit flicked its head left and right, daring only to move once it was certain that it was not being followed.

It had been running for nearly half an hour now, ducking and diving between patches of cover, ears twitching at the slightest sound which it could consider to be out of place. Its den was close now, no more than ten feet away at most.

At last, its predicament appeared to be over. With no predators in sight, the rabbit bounced out from the bush, eyes locked on the entrance to its underground home.

All too late, the rabbit heard the horrifying snarl that signalled its doom.

Leaping into the air in one final bid for freedom, the last thing the prey saw was a pair of long jaws, filled with serrated teeth that clamped down around its neck, severing the spinal cord in one bite.

Violently shaking the rabbit, blood spraying all over its orange fur, the wolf tore off a big chunk of flesh and swallowed hard.

Over the course of the next several minutes, the beast continued to rip and tear at the dead corpse, consuming every bit it could stomach until there was nothing but a bloodied mess of torn muscles and broken bones lying before it.

The hunter's blood frenzy was only brought to a stop when it caught wind of echoing howls ringing through the undergrowth. One by one, nearly half a dozen glowing yellow orbs pierced through the darkness, each one accompanying the unmistakable low growls of timber wolves.

With all exits blocked, the wolf swept the carcass between its legs, snapping its jaws at the timber wolves and growling back with equal ferocity; caring little for the fact it was outnumbered by at least ten to one.

“Stand down.”

A smooth voice from behind the trees instantly silenced the new foes. A brown-coated earth pony mare with a short, blood-red mane trotted towards the wolf; her nonchalant attitude at complete odds with the wild anger of the creature before her.

No matter how many warnings it threw at her, the mare did not slow her pace, hardly even flinching as it lunged at her.

Within the blink of an eye, the mare side-stepped its attack without effort, and in a single smooth motion, slid between the wolf’s jaws with less than an inch to spare.

Pulling out a silver ring, the mare clamped it around the wolf's neck and rolled back to her hooves, just as the creature collapsed behind her.

Violently convulsing, the wolf’s body began to shrink, its features softening as it morphed back into the shape of a freckled, orange earth pony with messy blonde hair.

“Good to see you again, Applejack.”

“Ugh, wha...?” Applejack murmured, her vision still blurry while her consciousness was returning. “Wait a minute, where am I? And what the hay is goin' on here?”

“As clichéd as it may sound, all the answers will be provided in due time, Applejack,” the mare said. From what Applejack could discern, the pony before her spoke with a Trottingham accent; a fact which, if true, only raised further questions about what she was doing here – wherever ‘here’ was.

“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ebony Star, and I am here to help you.” Ebony extended her hoof, but Applejack slapped it away. She had just woken up to find somepony babbling nonsense about helping her with something undefined, and now she was acting like they had been friends for years? This was all sounding a little too convenient.

“You stay away from me, you hear?! I don’t know you think you're doin’, but if this is some kinda prank, I ain’t laughin’!”

Ebony sighed and rolled her eyes. It had become routine at this point for her help to be rejected out of hoof, much to her annoyance. Once again, she would have to spell everything out right here and now just to get Applejack to trust her. Where is the sense of adventure in these ponies? She thought to herself before clearing her throat.

“Please don't make this difficult, Applejack. I know you have a long list of questions, and I shall answer each one of them. But if you really want to get to the heart of the matter; to put simply, you are a werewolf, just like me.”

“Excuse me?” Applejack tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. If this was the work of Princess Luna, she had suddenly developed a rather bizarre sense of humour. Couldn’t she just have her dream about her teeth falling out like normal ponies?

“Pull the other one!” she said with a forced chuckle in her voice. “I dunno what kinda mare you take me for, but just because I can’t remember how I got here don't mean I’m gonna believe some random cock an' bull story about becomin' a werewolf.”

“Listen, Applejack, as absurd as it may sound, I assure you that I speak the truth,” Ebony let out an annoyed huff, pointing to Applejack’s collar. “You see the object I put around your neck? It's a magic suppressor. It's the only thing preventing you from transforming right now. Try removing it and see what happens. Go ahead, prove me wrong.”

“Darn right I'm gonna prove you wrong!” Applejack exclaimed, tearing off the collar. “Why, once Twilight finds out what you're tryna do to me, you’re gonna be in more trouble than a vampire fruit bat in an... apple... or-”

Her disgruntled ramble trailed off, her mind wiped clean of all thoughts, replaced by irresistible compulsion to stare at the moon.

Then her limbs snapped.

A violent, agonized scream burst free from her mouth, even before she knew what she was screaming about.

Picking up the collar, Ebony clipped it back around Applejack’s neck, just as casually as if she was slipping on a piece of evening wear for a fancy night out.

“Now do you see what I mean?” She asked, holding Applejack steady once the transformation had stopped. “Without my help, it will not take long to consume you. You will not just be another wild animal of the Everfree, as the wolf inside of you is endlessly hungry; a never ceasing urge to hunt and kill everything living it can find. You wouldn't want that, now would you?”

“I... I guess not...” Applejack replied between heavy breaths. “How did this happen?”

“I saw it with my own two eyes." Ebony’s voice dropped to a more sombre tone. Sitting down next to Applejack, she gazed out into the pitch-black undergrowth. “You were chasing after a border collie. You did well to keep up with it, but in doing so you attracted the attention of a very different canine. Don’t you remember any of it?”

Applejack shook her head. She had a vague memory of the day Winona spontaneously ran off. Between chasing after her and waking up in bed the next morning, there was a big gap in her memory. She had somehow sustained an injury to her right front leg, reasoning that she must have been ambushed by something in the forest.

She winced just thinking about the deep lacerations to her leg. Considering the wide assortment of animals she had defended herself against during her life, Applejack knew that whatever was strong enough to cause her amnesia must have been an extremely vicious beast.

Yet it had never occurred to her that an animal bite could carry such a debilitating curse. Then again, she’d only learned that werewolves existed beyond old pony folk tales.

Her thoughts turned to her family. As stoic as Big Mac appeared to be on the surface, Applejack knew his tendency emotions out on work. Granny Smith had been through so much already; outliving her own son, and now facing the possibility of her granddaughter suffering a far worse fate.

Then there was Applebloom. Poor little Applebloom. She only recovered from her grief-stricken state was due to the Sister hooves social. It was the biggest bonding experience of the year for them both. Applejack didn't want to imagine just how distraught her little sister would be without her around.

“So,” Ebony said, breaking the long silence. “Do you accept my offer?”

Applejack straightened her back and looked Ebony in the eye. She certainly wasn’t lying about the werewolf affliction, but a slight grin edging around her lips made it evident that she was still not telling the whole truth. Despite this, however, Applejack knew she didn’t have much in the way options. She would just have to keep her wits about her around Ebony.

“I accept. But you'd better be stickin' ta your promises, missy. I don't care what kinda curse I’m stuck with – if you try any funny business with my family, you’ll be on the recieivin’ end of a buckin' that you ain't soon gonna forget!”

“And thus, our deal is set,” Ebony once more extended her hoof, which Applejack shook firmly.

“Deal.”

“So, um, what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked Trixie. She knew the basics of werewolf lore, now combined with a few odd corrected misconceptions.

“First, we need to prepare,” Trixie replied, leading Fluttershy to her stage wagon parked outside. “Running blindly into the Everfree forest is never a good idea, but I'm sure you know that from experience, don't you?”

Fluttershy nodded, grumbling under her breath. She didn't care to keep count of how many times she had to warn little children about the dangers of the Everfree's creatures. With Nightmare Night coming up, she was reminding them practically every other day.

As Trixie pulled down the front ramp, Fluttershy's jaw dropped at the revelation wagon's interior. The bottom floor—and yes, somehow there was a set of stairs leading to an unseen upper floor—was lined with an entire library’s worth of books, all organised alphabetically across shelves that stretched to almost three times her own height; with the length of the wagon appearing to be longer than her cottage was high.

Fluttershy pulled her gaze away from the expansive library—biting her lip to be discrete about her confusion—checking and re-checking the exterior of the wagon several times to make sure she was seeing everything correctly.

“Alright, alright. Just get it over with already, will you?” Trixie said with an annoyed sigh as she gestured around her. “Everypony says the same thing about the wagon. So please, be a good filly and get it out of your system now, okay?”

“Oh, my goodness,” Fluttershy finally blurted out after several impatient hoof-taps from Trixie. “It's smaller on the outside!”

“Close enough,” Trixie muttered, trotting over to the far end of the room.

Levitating a piece of chalk up to a small black board, she marked a line on one side, adding to a tally which noted the number of times somepony remarked about her wagon’s size discrepancy – specifically if they mentioned the inside or the outside first.

“Don't bother asking how my wagon got this way. If old Starbutt couldn't comprehend this kind of magic, Trixie doubts you're going to be a miraculous improvement over this scoreboard.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was supposed to feel insulted by that remark. Though if she was, Trixie certainly wasn't interested in hearing about it. She was already scurrying through the cupboards next to the chalk board, muttering to herself about the details of various alchemical tools.

“Dihydrogen Poloxide? No. Tetrobate Carbonate? No. Polyhydronic Cilic Damastrocon? No, no, no! For Luna’s sake, where is it?!”

Fluttershy cocked her head. Though she didn't understand a word of what Trixie just said, it was obvious to Fluttershy that she was attempting to create yet another miscellaneous concoction; like what she had already been given. With Trixie engrossed in the art of potion mixing, Fluttershy decided to have quick look around. Though if she would find anything useful was anypony's guess.

Upon closer inspection of the chalkboard, Fluttershy noticed that it was fixed to the centre of a rather discreetly hidden door – though perhaps not so discreet as to be considered secret. Pushing the door open with a gentle nudge, the sight that greeted her could only be described as a full-on armoury!

Walls lined with the proud displays of various weapons from across the entire spectrum of pony warfare. From great swords to silver stakes, flintlock pistols to javelins; if it was somepony’s speciality, it was here.

Even during her trips to Canterlot—a city packed to the brim with shops that catered to every niche hobby a pony could name—she had never seen anything like this, not even from the royal guards!

To say that Fluttershy would never be considered a violent pony would be beyond a gross understatement. Out of all the elements of harmony, the one who represented kindness was almost always the closest to true pacifism.

Even with the urges to drink the blood of living ponies, which came part and parcel with her vampiric affliction, if there was an alternative to attacking innocent ponies, Fluttershy would jump at the chance.

Despite all this, with such a diverse array of weaponry on hoof, Fluttershy couldn’t help but let her mind wonder about all the possibilities to defend Equestria with such instruments. Lost in her fantasies about fending off changelings with an army of lancers at her side, she forgot to pay attention to something else she was losing; her sense of direction.

Inevitably, she wandered into the biggest object in the room; a gigantic, and fully loaded, repeater crossbows. The resulting nudge fired off nearly half a dozen, five-inch long bolts in quick succession into the wall in front of her, startling her enough to jump back half way across the room.

“Fluttershy, what the hay are you doing in there?!” Trixie yelled, galloping over to see what kind of mess her partner was making.

“Why can't I have one of those?” Fluttershy asked, pointing to the now unloaded artillery.

“You've never fought against a werewolf before, have you?” Trixie asked, planting her face in her hoof and shaking her head.

“Um, no?” Fluttershy said in a slightly confused manner, not entirely catching on to the condescending sentiment Trixie was expressing. “Why would I?”

“Listen,” Trixie continued with an exasperated sigh. “Silver bullets are expensive. We can’t waste them on heavy weaponry that even the biggest Earth Ponies have difficulty pulling on their own. Let me handle the weapons, and you can administer the serum to change the curse.”

Fluttershy glanced past Trixie, looking towards the mysterious purple liquid contained in the beakers behind her. She hadn’t really processed the gravity of the situation until now, but it occurred to her that if this curse Applejack suffered with was anything her monthly Flutterbat transformations, she knew that it would be something Applejack would have to live with for the rest of her life.

Was that something she could live with? Could the element of honesty hide something that would take such a big chunk out of her life?

Besides Trixie, only Twilight who knows about Flutterbat. Fluttershy lamented to herself. Though it looks like Applejack will have to discover the truth as well.

No matter how many times Fluttershy told herself—or rather, Twilight insisted that she tell herself—that her friends would accept her, a persistent, nagging feeling insisted that anypony had the potential to become a monster like Decadence.

Will Applejack and I forever be one, poorly concocted potion away from a vicious, feral insanity?

“Hey, Butter-shy, are you listening? Equestria to Flutter Brutter!” Trixie clapped her hooves in front of Fluttershy's face.

Fluttershy turned away and slowly trotted back to the front door, eyes hidden under her mane. Looking once more at the differences between her cottage and the wagon, she sat herself down on the ramp between worlds.

“Fluttershy? Trixie asked, approaching her. “Is everything alright?”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Trixie was showing genuine empathy towards her. Even if she was, it wasn’t enough to force a reply. Instead, she simply cast her gaze to up to the cloudless night sky above, of which the full moon was the grand centrepiece.

“What will happen to Applejack if she doesn't get the serum?” Fluttershy asked after a long pause.

Trixie rubbed her chin, taking a moment think of an answer that was both accurate and sensitive. “Then she won't be Applejack anymore,” she concluded. “But if we get the serum to her quickly, she can learn to control her other side. If you can do it, who's to say a hard-working pony like Applejack can't?”

Fluttershy mulled over Trixie's words, still wondering why she, of all ponies, was the one expected to help the Night Shift.

Sure, Trixie is no slouch when it came to magic, but why not somepony physically stronger, like Rainbow Dash? She can last in hoof-to-hoof combat with practically anything.Heck, even Pinkie Pie, as scatterbrained as she is, has so much more physical dexterity than I do.

Folding out one of her bat wings, she scanned her eyes over the bony appendage. I hate to admit it, but when it comes to overcoming your own monsters, I’m the one friend Applejack has with first-hoof experience. I may be weak, but I’m still the Element of Kindness, bat pony or not.What kind of friend would I be if I abandoned Applejack when she needs it most?

Taking a deep breath, she turned to meet Trixie’s gaze, smiling softly. “You're right. Thanks, Trixie.”

“Oh, think nothing of it,” Trixie said, standing up on her hind legs, letting her cape would blow in the wind. “All in a day's work for the ever so kind and compassionate; Trixie! Greatest therapist of bat ponies and other magical beasts in all of Equestria!”

“That's a little long winded, don't you think?” Fluttershy replied, smirking as she nudged the over dramatic unicorn.

“It's a working title!” Trixie proclaimed, both bursting out laughing.

Applejack stuck close behind Ebony, traversing ever deeper into the Everfree. Unable to see much through the darkness, every other step invoked a new, disturbing feeling; as if one hundred eyes carefully watched her from every nook and cranny.

She couldn't pin down the how, but the pony before her seemed to have a certain presence about her – a way of conducting herself that issued a wordless command to all creatures, asserting her dominance.

The pair had been walking in silence for nearly an hour now, twisting and turning through the undergrowth with no obvious direction or purpose, to the point where Applejack wondered if she was being lead around in circles. As the minutes ticked by, her anxiety over the unknown starting to drain away, replaced instead by frustration at the seemingly pointless trek.

“So, Ebony,” Applejack asked. “Care to fill me in on where you’re takin' me?”

“Getting a little impatient, are we?” Ebony replied, tapping her front hooves against a couple of tree trunks, as she had been doing at random intervals throughout the journey. The difference, this time, was that her blank expression now changed to an elated grin.

“Well then, you are in for a treat. Although you may want to sit down for this next bit.”

Applejack had plenty more questions she wanted to voice, but words escaped her as the world around her suddenly started spinning. What little she could see clearly before became a messy blur of random colours, turning the ground beneath her to mush and sending her tumbling end over end.

“Well, I did warn you, didn’t I?” Ebony’s voice echoed.

By the time Applejack found herself able to comprehend that remark, the forest returned to normal – or at least, whatever fraction of normalcy could be applied to the Everfree. She hadn’t a clue how much time had passed since her dizzying spell, nor did she know how she had moved to this new location.

If Ebony had been a unicorn, Applejack would have just shrugged the whole experience off as magic. She could never wrap her head around how all that arcane stuff worked. ‘Magic’ of any kind coming from an earth pony made the dramatic shift from dense woodland to open clearing extra confusing.

The only explanation Applejack could think of was that Ebony moved the trees; an impossible task without disturbing the earth during the transition.

“Impressive, isn't it?” Ebony gestured her hoof towards the clearing, her grin so wide, Applejack thought it may break off her face. “Care to wager the solution of my trick?”

“Nope, I ain’t got a clue how you did that,” Applejack shrugged, rubbing her aching forehead. “But I sure as sugar ain't gonna get used to it.”

You never know,” Ebony retorted. “Earth pony magic is a potent force to master. Something you must always keep in mind, dear Applejack, is that appearances can be deceiving. Any child who looks at a straw appearing to bend in water will begin to realise that ‘reality’ is a matter of perspective. If unicorns and pegasi can learn to master their magic by the end of foalhood, then who’s to say Earth ponies cannot?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. Anypony who spent a good amount of time around Twilight Sparkle would be lucky to escape a lecture on earth pony magic. However, it was ridiculous to suggest that such magic could rearrange dozens of trees in the blink of an eye.

Before she could argue back, Ebony hurried up Applejack to meet a group of a dozen other earth ponies; all standing in two, straight ranks, more like the royal guard than the average civilian. Conveniently enough, there was a single spot missing on the far-left corner left for Applejack to take.

“Ah, perfection!” Ebony exclaimed, smooching her hoof like a chef tasting a freshly cooked meal. The way she leapt in front of everypony made Applejack wonder if her mentor was getting a little too excited at being a werewolf trainer. Although, in all honesty, she didn’t know what level of enthusiasm was appropriate to display for this task.

Looking over at her fellow students, Applejack squirmed at the sight of the new ponies, all of whom looked to be in various stages of a mental breakdown. Some were shaking violently, eyes darting around every which way in a constant state of paranoia. Others looked almost dead: hanging their heads with a vacant look in their eyes, staring blankly into space.

Applejack empathised with them the most. The revelation that they were doomed to transform into a raging beast every full moon was a weight that would weigh down any sane pony’s heart. Given her propensity towards blunt honesty, she knew better than anypony what it was like for guilt to eat away at one's soul.

Those in the third category were the exact opposite. These were the ponies who stood tall, chests puffed out as they smiled with a psychotic grin, gnashing their teeth together and growling like aggressive dogs. The silver collars around their necks were obviously the only things keeping their savagery in check, no matter how much their inner beasts screamed to be let out.

What scared Applejack the most was not the fact that they were already giving into their bestial instincts – no, it was much worse than that.

She could hear some of the psycho ponies chuckling under their breath, licking their drooling lips as if they were about to be served the most delicious meal of their lives. They knew how Applejack, along with all the other ‘students’, were desperate to retain their sanity was left, no matter how much or little was left. They relished in their fear, throwing away everything that tethered them to civilisation, caring only for the moment that their pack leader would give them the signal to unleash hell on whatever—and whoever—would stand in their way.

It was entirely possible some of them these ponies mad to begin with, but Applejack didn't care to speculate. All that mattered now was her fight for survival; both against the psycho ponies and her own inner monster.

“Alright everypony, eyes front!” Ebony bellowed her first command. “In a moment, you will all be removing your magic suppressors, beginning your first challenge. Your objective is, of course, taking back control of the wolf within you. Do not attempt to reason with it, for it is not a rational creature, as it’s only desire is to hunt and kill; to preserve its own life in the wild. To prevent it from using you as a vessel, you must preserve your current state of mind. No matter how much your body may change...”

“Quit stalling and just tell us already!” One maniacal stallion burst out, limbs twitching and eyelids blinking out of sync. “How do we get the wolf to obey us?!”

“Calm down, I was getting to that,” Ebony replied, rolling her eyes.

I swear, this mare must have the patience of an Alicorn to put up with some o' these ponies. Applejack thought, fighting back the desire to buck the stallion in the face.

“Anyway, as I was saying-” Ebony attempted to continue, but this stallion was having none of it. Grabbing his collar with his front hooves, he snapped the thing in two; transforming with a speed that surprised everypony watching, including Ebony. “Alright then, if that's how you want to play this.”

Even if the stallion could have given some witty retort, the opportunity never came. With a flick of her wrist, Ebony morphed her hoof into a paw, sprouting five claws to slice through the attacker’s throat.

A few futile gasps and bloodied coughs later, the werewolf lay dead on the ground, reverting to his equine physique just as fast as the curse had taken over in the first place.

“I trust that there won't be any other rude interruptions, will there?” Ebony said, her voice flat; save for a minor twinge of annoyance at losing rebellious student.

In stark contrast, everypony else stood in stunned silence, having witnessed first hoof the potential mastering the wolf within could bring.

“Didn’t think so.” Clearing her throat, Ebony continued. “Now, to avoid a similar fate to that mess of a pony, I suggest you all picture in your mind the one thing that matters to you most. Something that binds your mind to this world with enough emotional potency to overcome the bestial rage.”

Applejack raised her hoof. “So, what you’re sayin' is, think o’ somethin' within ourselves that's so valuable, even the wolf can't make us forget?”

“Precisely!” Ebony said, clapping her hooves together. “Oh Applejack, you are such a clever pony. I knew I had a good feeling about recruiting you into our little congregation. I just can't wait to see you test your limits!”

Applejack blushed at receiving such sudden enthusiastic, though the jealous grumbles and annoyed glares from other ponies told her it was best not to draw attention to herself again.

“Now everypony,” Ebony continued. “Let us not waste any more time. Lock on to the image of what defines you most as pony, and on the count of three, remove your collars. One... two... three!”

The proceeding clicks of each magic suppressor signalled the start of the agonizing process which everypony would now have to endure. No matter how much she clenched her teeth, trying to ignore the pain, Applejack couldn't stop herself from screaming as her body began to tear itself apart.

Collapsing to the ground, Applejack helplessly cast her gaze back at Ebony, watching swayed her hips back and forth; dancing to the melodious screams of agony and ecstasy erupting from her students like a macabre musical.

A ferocious snarl erupted from Applejack’s mouth. Who did Ebony think she was? How could anypony show such joy toward a magical affliction, turning peaceful ponies into bloodthirsty beasts? Oh, how she would have loved to rip the smile off that twisted muzzle of hers...

No, that’s what the wolf wants. Applejack pushed back the bloody thoughts, already feeling the inner monster forcing its way to the surface. She would have to use every ounce of her willpower to fight it.

Kill! The wolf growled into Applejack’s mind, claws piercing their way out from her hooves.

Kill! Pain surged through her entire body with every poisonous word the wolf spoke.

KILL! The wolf demanded.

Her muzzle cracking as it extended outwards, Applejack shut her eyes tight, picturing in her mind’s eye a heavy stone door covered in chained padlocks.

The beast behind it pounded away, the binding chains snapping one by one with its ever-mounting desperation to escape. If Applejack didn’t act fast, the Element of Honesty would be lost to the wolf forever.

KILL! HUNT! RIP FLESH! CRUSH BONES! CONSUME THE MEAT!

It was now or never. Stop! Applejack cried in her head, picturing herself stomping her hooves down onto the pitch back ground around her. Bright shafts of light pierced through cracks in the mental landscape, each one revealing windows into the memories which she held most dear.

She felt her heart swell as visions of her family came flooding back to her. The delightful smile Applebloom wore as she raced beside her in the Sisterhooves Social. The serenity of Granny Smith as she snored loudly in her sleep, exhausted from a hard day's work in the orchid. Even the subtle differences of how Big Mac pronounced his limited vocabulary, expressing a greater emotion to her than many ponies would in their entire lives.

And then of course, there were her best friends; standing with her through thick and thin, no matter what was thrown her way. The smell of Pinkie Pie’s freshly baked cupcakes on a frigid winter morning, the enthusiastic chirping of Fluttershy’s song birds, the soft fabric of Rarity’s dresses against her skin; little things that made Ponyville feel like home.

Not to mention the pulse-pounding workouts Rainbow Dash gave her through the running of the leaves, and the mental workout of Twilight’s magic lectures.

Not even the emotional manipulation of Decadence could tear them apart, and if she could overcome that, then no wolf was going to keep her away from them. This was her life, her world. She had her anchor. She envisioned her friends and family, all standing around her in a circle, blocking the wolf’s path.

This did not stop the wolf from trying to break through, but Applejack didn’t care. “If you’re goanna say something’ like ‘you can never hope to stop me’, or any cliché lines like that, then I’m afraid you’re too late,” Applejack said to the wolf with a confident smile. “I’ve got all the support I need to keep my head on straight.”

Realising that brute force was not getting it anywhere, the wolf’s relentless anger began to fade. Yet it didn’t back away. Instead, it stood there, staring at Applejack with a wide, toothy grin on its face, laughing.

“How sweet,” it scoffed. “Poor Applejack. You really don’t understand how this works at all, do you? I am not some kind of parasite born to feed off you; I am you!”

Applejack gulped. A cold sweat washed over her, be she refused to break eye contact. “That’s the biggest load o’ horse apples I ever heard! I don’t care what you say, I ain’t a violent pony, and I intend to prove it, no matter what I look like.”

Shaking its head, the wolf turned its back on Applejack, still chuckling as it walked back towards the door. “Deny it all you want, but you'll see the truth in time. The hunger will come, and when it does, you will realise that, no matter how civilised a pony thinks they are, there will always be that feral instinct, waiting to be unleashed.”

And with that, Applejack snapped out of her daydream.

Her fellow werewolves had dispersed across the clearing; each body twisting and breaking in their own way. Predictably, most of the ponies who had finished transforming were the psycho ponies, embracing their newly found wild heart by tearing out the throats of the weak.

Many ponies were still screaming their heads off—almost literally in some cases—as their fragile bodies faltered under the merciless force of the transformation. Only a few of the calmer ponies looked close to finishing; the rest lying in a tangled mess of deformed limbs and broken bones. A hoof there, a claw there, a jaw split in two down the middle; it was all a complete mess.

“Look at all of them, Applejack,” Ebony said, wrapping her hoof around Applejack’s shoulder. “Is this not a glorious sight worthy of Discord himself?”

“'Glorious' ain't a word I'd be usin' to describe Discord,” Applejack said, pushing Ebony's hoof away with her paw-

Wait, paw? Applejack hadn’t noticed that her transformation was complete. Her body still ached a little here and there, but other than that, this shape felt so natural, it was like she’d been a wolf her entire life.

I’ve done it! She thought, congratulating herself. How long she could maintain this form would be another matter, but for the moment, with adrenaline pumping through her arteries, Applejack could not deny that she felt incredible.

“Well I'll be a donkey's uncle!” she proclaimed. “Guess the ol’ Apple family spirit makes me more tenacious than I thought!”

“You have done a grand job, Applejack,” Ebony said, clapping her hooves in celebration. “I have a feeling you and I are going to become the best of friends.”

Part 3: Blessed and Possessed

As if on que, long yawns escaped from the mouths of Trixie and Fluttershy the moment their camp was finished. The perpetual night of the Everfree was enough to throw anypony’s body clock into disarray, so Trixie suggested they both sleep in shifts. She agreed to take first watch, just in case the Everfree decided to circumvent her perimeter spell.

“You can never be too careful,” Trixie said,” Even for a brilliant spellcaster such as Trixie.”

Fluttershy simply nodded after another long yawn, far too tired to object to Trixie’s boasting. Her bat-like features faded a little as she slumped down inside the tent, falling asleep before she hit the ground, leaving Trixie with only herself to reaffirm her greatness.

Over the course of the next eight hours, neither pony noticed anything noteworthy during their shifts. That, ironically, was eventful in of itself, given both the Everfree's reputation and the werewolf Applejack was on the loose.

“Good morning, Trixie.” Fluttershy said after Trixie’s final shift, smiling cheerfully as she stretched.

“Yeah, yeah, same to you, Bat-butt,” Trixie grumbled back, black bags still sagging under her eyes. “Let’s just dismantle this thing and get a move on.”

“Do you always put this much effort into new nicknames?” Fluttershy groaned, rolling her eyes. “Or do you just say whatever pops to mind first?”

“Touchy, touchy,” Trixie remarked as she took apart the sticks, dead vines and leaves which made up the tent. “Don't you want to find Applejack as soon as possible? The Marvellous and Magnificent Tracker; Trixie, could spend quite a bit of time coming up with new nicknames for your werewolf friend. Timber Jack, Applewolf and... and… eh…”

“And?” Fluttershy pressed.

“…Okay! That's all Trixie has presently come up with,” Trixie admitted after a brief pause. “But the point is we shouldn't waste any more time. I've got a bad feeling that something's waiting for us.”

“How do you figure? The whole place is creepy by existing.”

“That's just it,” Trixie gestured to the still environment. “There isn't anything. No scurrying in the bushes, no whistles in the wind, not even an owl’s hooting. If you ask me, everything is a little too peaceful to be right.”

“Point taken.” Fluttershy closed, ears twitching to the forest’s background ambience.

For several long moments, the only thing to break the silence between Trixie and Fluttershy were their own breaths.

Trixie opened her mouth, but no words came out; silenced as Fluttershy spun around, eyes bolting open and shoving her hoof past Trixie’s head.

“There!”

Their cover blown, the interloper shot away, still too close to the undergrowth to make out anything – save for a brief shadow streaking across Trixie’s vision.

Unfortunately for the spy, Trixie was prepared

Trixie retaliated, firing off a stream of magic missiles above the spy, forcing them down and into the waiting forcefield of her perimeter spell.

Crashing head-first into the barrier, the interloper dropped like a stone, revealing themselves to be a lunar Pegasus.

“Officer down, officer down!” the bat pony cried.

“You have exactly five seconds to tell me what in Luna's name you're doing here.” Trixie snapped, grabbing them in her magical grasp.

“Trixie! What are you doing?!” Fluttershy protested. “This is-”

“I know who this is!” Trixie snapped. “This wouldn't be the first time Moonlight Hunter has interfered with my investigations, so they'd better have a good excuse.”

“I had a feeling you were up to no good, Trixie Lullamoon.” Moonlight grinned, wincing in pain as Trixie pulled back on their wings. “And now I know for sure! You should be ashamed of yourself, Trixie Lullamoon. Harbouring an escaped monster, causing who-knows-what with your antics.”

“My… antics…” Trixie’s eye twitched, snorting with rage as her last ounces of patience boiled away. “My antics?! And what about your conversations with Princess Luna? You know, about jumping to conclusions? You’re a disgrace to the Night Guards!”

“Please, both of you-”

“That will be quite enough.”

A smooth, baritone voice behind Moonlight spoke, in stark contrast the abrasive yelps of the captive bat pony. Stepping out of the shadows was a kind of pony Fluttershy hadn't seen in a long time; a Lunar Unicorn.

He shared the same grey coat and midnight blue armour as his Pegasus cohort; however, instead of bat-like wings, he had a long, jagged horn, looking to Fluttershy like black lightning bolt. With a flash of his dark aura, the Night Guard relieved his companion from Trixie's spell.

“Ugh, great,” Trixie moaned. “More impulsive guard ponies to get in Trixie's way.”

“Impulsive?!” Moonlight gritted their teeth, their front hooves curled so tight that they looked ready to deck the Trixie in the face. “I'll have you know we've been investigating Ebony Star far longer than the likes of-”

“Stop.” A glare from the Lunar Unicorn immediately calmed his cohort down.

“Sorry, Spectre Charge,” Moonlight said, bowing their head in apology. “I’m sorry about this aggression – I’ve been feeling a little bit jumpier after drawing strength from my masculine side recently.”

“It's fine, my love,” Spectre's face softened into a warm smile, his tone relaxed as he nuzzled the Pegasus’ face. “I'm not mad at you. We just can't afford to alienate any more allies, you understand?”

“Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy piped up, looking more confused than ever. “But could somepony please tell me what's going on?”

“Oh, of course,” Spectre cleared his throat, gesturing to the bat pony next to him. “This is my special somepony, Moonlight Hunter. We've been together ever since Princess Luna's return, and are tasked with keeping special watch over the Everfree Forest. I’m sure you gather Trixie got off on the wrong hoof with us, however, I do hope we can put our past differences aside for the sake of bigger issues.”

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy replied with a welcoming smile. “I'm certain we'll all get along. Right, Trixie?”

Trixie huffed, though a swift nudge in the ribs persuaded her to make peace.

“Glad we have that cleared up. But now, I must present some unfortunate news. You might want to cover your eyes for this.”

Spectre’s horn flared with a crackle of dark blue magic, shattered the serenity Fluttershy and Trixie had woken up to.

Throwing their hooves over their eyes, they still had to squint to prevent blinding from Spectre’s flash. At last, the truth of their surroundings was revealed in all its twisted glory.

The hostile flora Fluttershy flew through was merely the tip of the iceberg compared to what she saw before her.

The Everfree’s colours had always been dark and muted, yet there were characteristics recognisable part of a healthy ecosystem.

Now, though?

Now, all shades of green had darkened into blood red, decaying into a shrivelled mass of thorny, tangled bark in far greater quantities than before. Glowing cracks split the ground into a patchwork fissures erupting with a dark energy; as if the sundering had reached the very bowels of Equestria itself.

Worse still were the creatures that spewed forth from the fissures.

Swarms of massive invertebrates of every kind: puss spewing maggots, blood sucking leaches and scurrying cockroaches were but a sample of what the nightmare’s corruption unleashed.

Both Trixie and Fluttershy stared in shock at the chaos before them. No matter where they looked, they could find no answers as to how the illusion of normalcy had ever been maintained.

What was evident, however, was that whoever this “Ebony” was, the implication that were the epicentre of corruption meant that their magic was far more powerful than anypony could have anticipated.

This nightmare was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode and unleash its full horror.

“I mentioned a pony named 'Ebony Star` before. Now you see why we’re so desperate to catch her,” remarked Moonlight, digging out a blackened flower from the earth holding it out over a fissure. Before their very eyes, the plant shed its petals in favour of a new, lip-like head, filled with rows of jagged teeth.

“Ebony is an Earth Pony who has been hiding in the Everfree for countless years, always eluding our capture. Her earth magic is changing everything in to this; a perversion of everything natural. A nightmare glade.”

“Trixie gets the idea already,” Trixie said, trying to maintain a calm demeanour as she dodged a spike of earth bursting from the ground behind her. “If Ebony is the pony who started all this, then she could also be the one who infected Applejack. Fluttershy, we'd best be careful handling this-”

Unfortunately for Trixie, her words of caution came too late, as Fluttershy was already reeling from the effects of the nightmare.

An ear-splitting scream burst free from her lips as she felt the sickening sensation of slimy creatures slither up her legs, biting at her flesh with their circular, jawless mouths – filled to the brim with razor-sharp teeth.

“Get these things off me!” Fluttershy cried, violently shaking herself as she took flight.

“Fluttershy!” Trixie called, shooting an enraged glare at the Night Guards; both of whom just stood there, silently watching. “I had a gut feeling that you were untrustworthy. Thank you for proving this assumption correct! Tell me, is this ‘Ebony Star’ you speak of part of this farce as well?”

“Don't play dumb with us, Lullamoon,” Spectre replied with a stern, yet oddly calm tone. “We've been following you both from the start. You know as well as I do that we need to cleanse as much of this filth as possible – which you cannot do if the nightmare’s seeds remain dormant. You are both capable of fighting corrupt earth pony magic, if only you focus.”

“What's that supposed to mean?!” With a frustrated growl, Trixie cast the first spell she could think of.

Sending wave of magic to wash over Fluttershy, the air boiled with a cloud of hot steam, searing at anything it touched.

Fluttershy yelped in pain, the parasites burning on her skin. “Trixie, stop!”

“Concentrate, you fool!” Moonlight yelled, taking to the air to fend off a fresh set of predatory vines. “Unless you want the Nightmare to capture Fluttershy’s mind as well as her body!”

“Mind if you stop speaking in riddles and help me?!” Trixie snapped, cutting off her spell before it could seriously burn Fluttershy’s skin.

Flicking through the rolodex of spells in her mind, Trixie ruled out one after the other, helped little by the persistent swarms of bugs she had to swat away.

She saw the Night Guards in her peripheral vision, effortlessly entering combatting with the corrupted invertebrates through their unique fighting rhythms.

Their stances were wide, their heads held high and their expressions firm; declaring without a word spoken that they would give no quarter to the pathetic grubs that threatened to drain their lifeblood.

Though the bugs were teeming around their hooves, not even one broke through; beaten back by the combined force of broad sweeps of curved, wing-tip daggers and concentrated blasts of silver magic.

This gave Trixie an idea. A brilliant one, if she did say so herself.

A wide grin grew across her face. Perhaps, she thought, the chosen of Luna have a point.

“Listen up, and listen well, foul creatures of the nightmare!” Trixie bellowed. “What do you creatures think you, trying to feast on Trixie's friends? It is time to witness who the real force of power is in this fight!”

A bright aura of blue magic exploded around Trixie’s body. “Hang on, Fluttershy! The Heroic and Unbeatable Trixie is here to help!”

Her enthusiasm was short-lived – she fell flat on her face, the familiar sting of the corrupted vines lashing around her ankles as her magical aura winked out like a snuffed candle.

“Oh, for Luna's sake, not again!” she groaned through gritted teeth.

Wasting no time, Trixie blasted the restraining vines and leapt into a desperate sprint the second they loosened. She spared a glance over her shoulders and saw, briefly, the vines sprout hideous flowers with rows of jagged teeth. Then she cried out in pain as sharp, spearing pain lit her back on fire, and she was sent sprawling.

Seconds after she had freed herself from one trap, Trixie had run right into another.

Trixie didn’t see Moonlight’s unimpressed glare at the disaster.

“Uh-oh,” Moonlight remarked under their breath, giving Spectre a look of grave concern. “Do you think we overdid it a bit with the whole 'power is confidence' mantra?”

“Perhaps,” Spectre replied, the worried expression he returned betraying the calmness of his voice. “Next time, perhaps it’s best not to overstate our co-workers’ egos when they aren’t as skilled as they think they are.”

Observing Spectre closing his eyes, Moonlight grinned in anticipation of the next step.

Summoning a beam of purple magic to envelop his jagged horn, Spectre moulded the lunar energy with all the care and finesse of a sculptor; flattening it into the shape of a long, straight edged blade.

With a flick of his horn, Spectre swung the ethereal sword in a broad, sweeping arch, cutting all creatures that stood in his path to shreds.

Moonlights heart fluttered, starring with a wide-eyed amazement at their skill. Inspired by their partner's martial prowess, Moonlight withdrew their secondary weapons—short swords not unlike his wing-daggers, held in their front hooves—slashing away at the roots that bound Trixie with spinning dance of blades.

And to think, this all came from one pony, Moonlight mused between attacks.

The way Trixie scrambled to her hooves reminded Moonlight of Spectre’s early days in the Night Guards. The panic in her eyes as she fired her magic at random targets: it was like looking through a window in time.

The scale of this environmental cleansing paled in comparison to this resilient corruption. Back then, there had only been, at most, twenty lashers to destroy. Now, however? Moonlight had lost count of how many they had cut down.

Yet it was the following realization that brought Moonlight’s attacks to a screeching halt.

Slicing a lasher in two, Moonlight broke away, silently praying to Luna that Fluttershy was still alive.

Their face dropped at the sight before them.

Fluttershy’s screaming stopped. Out of sheer desperation, she had bitten her lip and flung herself against a nearby tree trunk, pain lancing through her side as she fell.

But through this pain, something had changed. Her hurt side didn’t visibly wriggle as much from the maggots as before. With a single glance, Moonlight saw how she turned dozens of parasites into a sticky, wet pulp.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, a frown of grim satisfaction on her face.

What worried Moonlight most, however, wasn't the aggressive plants or putrid invertebrates. No, the biggest threat was something new, a beast with a vicious reputation. Flying out from the undergrowth, a flock of seven befouled harpies screeched.

A small light spell from Spectre revealed the level of the Harpies’ malady. Their half-moulted feathers revealed a crusty, blackened skin, with eyes bloated to the point of almost bursting out of their sockets.

What made Moonlight gag the most, however, was the thick, sludgy discharge which spewed forth from every opening – made all the viler by the squirming fungi growing out from their open wounds.

“Just brilliant,” Moonlight groaned. “Trixie, Fluttershy, heads up! We’ve got company.”

“Trixie has noticed!” Trixie replied, still fighting against the corrupted vines that simply wouldn’t die.

That does it! Trixie thought to herself.

With her initial attempts to destroy the corrupted flora proving fruitless, Trixie had just the plan to solve the conundrum.

The first step was to take a page out of Spectre’s book, focusing her magic into a narrow beam and making her incision at the base of the plants. Just as she hoped, the vines began to regrow.

Now for the hard part.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, Trixie shifted her focus to her allies. Splitting her magical beam into a series of fine, arcane threads, Trixie took a deep breath and wove a new spell around each of her allies.

Pulling a manna-bomb from her cloak, Trixie broke the seal with her teeth. Sweat rolling down her face, she chucked the bomb into a fissure and surged magic through her horn. In a flash, Trixie and her friends were gone, phased out of existence in a teleportation spell just as she felt the heat of her manna-bomb singe the fur on her hooves.

Seconds she materialised onto scorched earth with Fluttershy, Moonlight and Spectre in tow. Looking around her, every piece of plant matter within a twenty-foot radius has been incinerated

“Success!” she cheered, wiping the sweat from her brow. “That was a close one.”

Unfortunately, her victory was short lived; the pungent stench of rotting flesh.

The harpies were somehow still alive.

Sparking magic at the tip of her horn, Trixie narrowed her eyes, waiting for the harpies to make the first move.

Moonlight crouched low, ready to a pounce like a tiger stalking its prey.

The harpies dived, each one spiralling around Trixie and Moonlight in their own descent pattern. However, half way down, the first three harpies swerved, crashing into one another and blocking the four above them.

Trixie briefly met eyes with Moonlight, both sharing a nod of acknowledgement as the harpies squawked loudly, their focus now on clawing at each other instead of ponies.

“Now!” Trixie cried, firing off a stream of arcane bolts into the bickering harpy flock.

In response, the harpies frantically flapped their wings, separating from one another just in time to dodge Trixie’s attack; their talons and feathered extremities singed by the heat. This didn't stop Trixie from pressing her attacks, since scattering the creatures was exactly what she wanted.

Now it was Moonlight’s turn to jump into the fray.

Leaping into the air, they flew straight through the middle of the flock, cutting limbs with short, sharp slashes, before banking around to repeat the assault over again.

Trixie had to give Moonlight credit for their speed and efficiency, since the harpies could not so much as touch them with how fast they twisted and turned around each retaliation. In addition, Moonlight’s attacks caused further disarray among the flock, their attempts to avoid Moonlight’s physical assault lead them stumbling into the path of the arcane barrage.

It didn’t take long to kill the harpies. Through the combined efforts of Trixie and Moonlight, the creatures’ burned bodies bleeding from countless cuts, one after the other crashed to the ground; limbs twitching as the rattles of their death throes escaped their mouth.

“Huh, that was easy…” Moonlight commented, prodding a harpy corpse upon landing. “Well, no signs of life in this one.”

“All in a day's work for the Magnificent Master Tactician: Trixie!” A wide bow accompanied Trixie's verbose bragging, of which Moonlight's ignored.

Neither pony had time to dwell on matters of ego, as the corrupted flora was already reclaiming the bodies. Only now that they got a close look did Moonlight and Trixie see the scattered seeds sprouting on the corpses, sowing their limbs back together.

“That was predictable,” Moonlight remarked, narrowing their eyes at Trixie. “How long have you been in the Night Shift again, Miss Lullamoon?”

“Oh, shut up,” Trixie sneered back. “How about you just continue keeping the harpies busy, while I go and help Fluttershy?”

“Me? You're the one with the bombs! Surely you can keep them contained.”

“While true, I can’t waste resources on something that will resurrect regardless. Now get on with it!”

“Ugh, fine!” Moonlight dived back into the harpy group, hacking and slicing away at the reforming tissues as fast as they could.

Unbeknownst to Moonlight, Trixie breathed a sigh of relief, confirming Moonlight’s trust. Now that she could set aside her differences, she turned her attention to a more important subject.

By the looks of things, Fluttershy was still fighting against the invertebrate onslaught. It was clear to Trixie that, despite her friend’s incredible persistence, the maggots just kept coming; raining from the tree branches to latch onto her flesh.

Just minutes before, Trixie had seen half a dozen little injuries, at most. Now, that number had skyrocketed, covering Fluttershy’s flesh in bulbous scabs and bleeding wounds from every point the maggot swarm had bitten.

Tensing her legs and forcing the rising back down, Trixie restrained her instincts to directly intervene. Instead, she a magnification spell to fill the full scope of her vision with Fluttershy’s repetitive dance. With every dive, turn and slam against the trees, Trixie made a mental note, counting the seconds it took Fluttershy to complete a rotation.

After the fifth repetition, the result was as clear as day.

Fluttershy was slowing.

With Moonlight’s hooves full, there was one other pony Trixie had to turn to and get everypony out of this mess.

Spectre had bubbled himself in a magic shield, blocking the approaching plants and grubs while lancing arcane blasts in retaliation.

Trixie couldn’t help but smile in admiration at the difficult balance Spectre had to maintain. His eyes locked on the foes ahead of him, Trixie watched Spectre for the same length of time she had watched Fluttershy, looking closely for the tell-tale flicker of the shield as portions of defensive magic were recycled for offensive means – in addition to the minute reduction in size with every blast.

If Trixie didn’t do something now, it wouldn’t be long until both were overrun.

“Make way for Trixie!”

The star-clad unicorn charged head first into Spectre's bubble, merging it with her own protection spell.

“What in Luna's name are you doing?!” Spectre protested as he stumbled forward, nearly losing control over the bubble.

“Saving your flank, what else?” Trixie grinned, her horn glowing brightly as she took over the bulk of the defensive spell’s power. “. Trixie can handle any incoming attacks. You focus on Fluttershy. She needs magic to heal and keep off the parasites”

“That's what I've been doing,” Spectre retorted, his face still taut with nerves. “I’m sparing every ounce of magic I can give her. But I've got to be careful.”

“Then be careful,” Trixie replied, waving her hoof at Spectre, her gaze wandering elsewhere. “Fluttershy can take a few scrapes here and there.”

“That's not what I meant!” Spectre turned his attention back to the bat pony above him. “You wouldn't know since you're not a Night Guard. The magic that turned Fluttershy into a bat pony? That wasn’t Decadence’s doing. Fluttershy’s magic is identical to my own. I don't want to risk turning her feral from my enhancing spells.”

“Well, up until now she hasn't had any control issues. After all, Trixie was the one who gave her the potions which keeps her sane. If anything was due to go wrong, it would have happened by now!”

Spectre grunted, gritting his teeth as he shot off another bolt. It was bad enough that the nightmare was developing at a faster rate than he had calculated, but now he had to gamble with an important subject of the Night Shift?

Spectre knew by the churning in his gut that he was going to regret this.

“Alright, fine,” Spectre reluctantly agreed, firing a small pulse of magic to get Fluttershy's attention. He hoped to Luna that Trixie understood what he was about to do. “Brace yourself, Fluttershy! I'm going to cast an enhancement spell on you. Think you can take it?”

“Do it!” Fluttershy cried without hesitation. Closing her eyes tight, she relaxed her body and awaited Spectre’s magic to do its work.

At Fluttershy’s conformation, Spectre unleashed a power surge through his horn; washing over Fluttershy with a wave of searing hot magic, frying the parasites to a crisp.

Her body going stiff, Fluttershy’s eyes went wide as the Night Guard’s power flowed through her body. Her senses kicked into overdrive, her own heartbeat echoing in her ears as the world burst into life with a greater array of colours than she had ever conceived of before. Feeling every tiny shift in the breeze, Fluttershy opened her mouth wide—fangs doubling in length—and released all her emotions into a long, feral scream.

Fluttershy: The Element of Kindness, protector of all creatures great and small, had gone to sleep. Awaking in her place, there was Flutterbat; her hungry eyes straying over to her prey of choice: harpies.

She could see every little detail of their bleeding bodies, dancing like marionettes on strings, manipulated by the enchanted flora which distorted the forest into mockery of life. Flutterbat felt a powerful emotion deep inside of her; one that she hadn’t felt in a long time.

Flutterbat felt the deep, seething hatred welling up from the pits of her stomach, and the only way to deal with it was to stop it at its source.

Permanently.

Her peripheral vision blurred with a red mist, watching Moonlight duel with the harpies, waiting for the right opportunity to dive in. In a similarly to Trixie, Flutterbat observed how Moonlight was slowing with each attack, the regeneration of the harpies wearing him down.

By their nature as undead, the harpies didn’t tire. If there was magic to fuel them, they would continue to slash, scratch and kick at Moonlight with the same level of malicious determination they had from the beginning.

Worse still, they were starting to gain the upper claw. If their attack missed or was blocked, Moonlight would disengage, only to find themselves flying directly into a set of piercing claws cutting into exposed flesh. With each successive string of attacks, Moonlight's breathing became heavier and the attacks they landed lessened.

“Hey! Over here, you repulsive freaks!” Flutterbat yelled, to the shock expressions of everypony listening.

With a loud hiss, Flutterbat bared the full length of her fangs and swooped directly into the harpy flock – shoving Moonlight out of the way.

Clamping her jaws down on a harpy's neck, she ripped off its head with her bare hooves in one pull, tossing it to the ground before ravaging its now limp body.

The other members of the flock descended upon Flutterbat, but she retaliated, throwing the remains of her first victim back in their faces, well before they could get close enough to attack.

In a bid to dodge around grotesque projectiles, the harpies inadvertently made themselves sitting ducks for Flutterbat to take down.

With a vicious look in her eyes, Flutterbat tore into the harpies one by one, ripping out any plant matter that tried to sprout from severed limbs. The fact that it was impossible to stop every part from self-repair didn't bother Flutterbat – the only thing she had on her mind was exterminating them all.

With unrelenting ferocity, Flutterbat poured all her hatred into each attack.

She hated how the harpies were forced to fight by this disgusting magic.
She hated how this power denied them a peaceful death. But most of all, she hated that they were an insult to all things harmonious in nature.

Every animal she had ever put her heart and soul into protecting? They were at risk because of the evil magic which defiled their existence.

And it was her duty to destroy the nightmare with that same passion.

Trixie and Spectre looked at each other. They could hardly believe their eyes. Neither said a word, silently admitting that their gamble had failed dramatically.

“Will you two quit gawking and help out here?!” Moonlight's reprimand snapped the pair out of their shock, flaring up their horns to cast a cleansing fire spell over the harpy remains.

The heat didn’t stop Flutterbat, however. She continued to press her manic assault, attacking whatever still showed signs of the nightmare's infection. “Let that be a lesson to anypony who dares mess with my home!”

“Fluttershy, that's enough!” Moonlight yelled, waving their hooves in front of the raging bat pony. “It's okay, the harpies are dead.You can chill out now!”

“No!” Fluttershy snapped through gritted teeth. “We are not done! The nightmare is everywhere! The entire forest is tainted! This won't be over until Ebony is dead!”

If Trixie's expression turned from one of shock, to one of pure terror. Not even under Decadence’s influence had she seen Fluttershy this enraged before.

Sure, she always had her moments of assertiveness. But this? This had gone far enough.

She began to cast a new spell, but the nightmare conspired against her.

A great cacophonous roar tore through the forest, heralding the charge of the one creature Trixie had hoped beyond hope she would never encounter again.

Bursting through the trees was a gigantic creature with the ferocity of a dragon and destructiveness of a hurricane. Its fur glowed with a deep red magic, its back bristles standing on end to form rows of sharp points down the length of its spine. The stars that had once given majesty to its ethereal form had vanished; leaving only swirling patches of void in their wake.

There could be no doubt about it. This was an Ursa Major.

Trixie's brain screamed at her to run, but her limbs would not move. She was frozen to the spot, paralysed with fear. Her previous encounter with an Ursa Minor has been bad enough, but this was a threat on a whole new level.

Trixie had no need to question why the creature was rampaging. By the sound of its roar alone—a rasping, guttural echo—she knew it was infected.

So, this is how the Great and Powerful Trixie comes to an end, she thought to herself, eyes fixed open at the monster charging towards her. Trampled by the creature which mothered the greatest shame I’ve ever been subjected to. How ironic.

A second later, the pain Trixie expected arrived – but not in the way she thought it would

Rather than being crushed, she instead felt a powerful buck to her side, sending her flying far from the path of the rampaging bear.

Flutterbat had come to her rescue.

“Fluttershy?” Trixie looked up at her companion, expecting to see fangs bared with intent to drain her blood.

Instead, Trixie saw a small flicker in Flutterbat’s eyes. It was faint, but if there was any sign she hadn’t completely gone feral, this was it. No matter how unlikely it may have been, Trixie held tight the few threads of hope left that Flutterbat would overcome her feral rage, with or without the aid of her potions.

Flutterbat gave no verbal answers as to why she had saved Trixie. Instead, she immediately launched herself back at the monster.

“Trixie!” Spectre called, racing towards her with Moonlight in tow.

“Are you okay?” Moonlight asked, offering a quivering hoof to help Trixie rise.

“Trixie is just fine, thank you very much!” Trixie snapped, batting Spectre's hoof away. “Trixie can deal with a few bumps and scrapes. But more importantly, Fluttershy needs our help!”

“She's too close to the Ursa Major,” Moonlight protested. “We'll be flattened like saplings if we get too close to that thing.”

“And you don't think I know this?!” Trixie glared at Moonlight. “Since you never bothered asking, I brought Fluttershy on this mission for a very good reason. If you’ll recall, I mentioned that Applejack has gone missing.

“But it’s far worse than that. I have compelling evidence to suggest that Applejack is now a werewolf, and we could lose her entirely unless we find her soon!”

“By Starswirls' beard...” The colour drained from Spectre's face. Dropping to his knees, tears began streaming down his face – the weight of his decisions finally catching up with him. “I've made a huge mistake. I didn't consider how far the nightmare's corruption spread. I've doomed us all...”

“Don't say that!” Moonlight blurted, throwing their hooves around Spectre, pulling him into a tight hug. “There have been Night Guards before us who broke away from Nightmare Moon's insanity, and don't forget how we fought against Decadence! We can do this. We... we just need a plan.”

“What plan?” Spectre shouted back. “We don't have a magic suppressor big enough to fit an Ursa Major! It's only a matter of time before it catches our scent again. What can we possibly do? Oh, dear Princess Luna, we're done for!”

“My, my, what is this blasphemy that befalls Trixie's ears?” Trixie sneered with a smug grin on her face, a perfect mask from the fact her knees were still shaking. “As much as Trixie hates to admit it, your special somepony is correct. No matter the odds, the Night Shift will always succeed. If you will cast your gaze to Fluttershy, you may see how well she is keeping the Ursa Major occupied.”

Looking back at the beast, Spectre’s jaw dropped.

The Ursa Major’s attention was exclusively focused on Flutterbat, dodging and weaving through its sluggish yet powerful assault - flattening several trees in a single swipe.

“Fluttershy’s attacks won’t do much to it,” Trixie said. “With a creature that size, it will take quite a bit more for the Ursa Major feel anything beyond an insect bite.”

“As long as we stay out from underfoot,” Moonlight speculated, “We may be able to wear it down. It'll be a war of attrition, but it's still possible.”

Raising to his hooves, Spectre smiled as he looked deep into Moonlight's eyes.

In them he saw everything that made him love Moonlight in the first place. The optimistic determination, dedication to justice, and unwavering resolve; even in the face of impossible odds. No words needed to be shared, as Moonlight returning a loving smile was enough to restore Spectre’s lost morale.

“Please don't forget to fight as well,” Trixie scoffed, rolling her eyes at what she considered to be an ill-timed display of affection.

“On it!” Moonlight saluted, lifting their wings in preparation for a speedy ascent. “Coming with us, I presume?”

“What? I… I… of course!” Trixie stuttered, turning away in a poor attempt to hide her fear. “Trixie just needs to... set up a spell, first! Yeah, that's it. A long spell. Don't worry, I'll be right behind you.”

A brief smirk back from Spectre made it obvious that he wasn't buying her excuse for a second. Luckily for Trixie, another roar from the Ursa Major spurred him and Moonlight into action, forgoing any further banter.

Blades drawn, Moonlight accelerated to their maximum flight speed, slicing their weapons across the Ursa Major's skin while flexing their wings to match the enraged beast's reactions. Likewise, Spectre fired off frequent, yet short and intense blasts of magic, aiming for the freshly carved wounds made by both Flutterbat and Moonlight.

The beast snapped its jaws at Flutterbat, swiping its massive front paws around its snout, each time missing the agile Pegasus.

As expected, the Ursa Major reacted to every little scrape that was inflicted upon it, only to find the cause of such irritation had already flown away.

“The nightmare consumes me... compels me... to serve... to kill!”

The beast spoke in the same guttural, echoing voice which gave such menace to its roar. For the briefest of moments, Moonlight found themselves slowing their attacks, half expecting the voice to be a deception on Trixie's behalf.

Too late did they realise it was not so.

Staring at Moonlight with its deep, red glowing eyes, the beast swatted them out of the sky with the force of a freight train.

“Moonlight, no!” Spectre cried, ceasing his attacks and redirecting his magic to catching his lover. But before he could complete the spell, a yellow streak darted across his vision once again.

Flutterbat caught the downed Lunar Pegasus in mid-air, barrel rolling under the Ursa Major's paw as it slammed to the ground.

Spectre could hear Moonlight groaning in pain, a sound which split his attention between his partner and tracking the Ursa Major’s next move.

“Stamp and trample! Crush and crumple!”

Lips curled back into a snarl, the Ursa Major charged, the power of its bellowing roar alone enough to knock Spectre off his hooves. Casting the first spell that came to mind, Spectre warped himself out of the corrupted beast's path, not knowing where his destination would be.

Indeed, the spell successfully removed him from the immediate risk of trampling, but instead sent him onto the monster's back, forcing him to cling on for dear life by the scruffs of its fur.

Moonlight, meanwhile, found themselves looking into the eyes of Flutterbat upon regaining their senses. Startled, they tried to crawl away, receiving a painful reminder about the attack from every bone.

“S-stay back!” they stuttered, though Flutterbat didn't appear to be taking any further interest in him.

“Enemy?” Flutterbat said, scanning her eyes over her fellow bat pony. “No. No enemy.”

Moonlight stared in confusion as Flutterbat flew back to the Ursa Major, leaving them in Trixie's hooves.

Said unicorn was standing over Moonlight, her focus held firmly on the spell she was channelling. Whatever this spell was, they knew nothing well could come of its interruption.

With his momentary respite, Moonlight tested the flexibility of their wings, swivelling one back and forth before doing the same with the other. Their right wing flared with greater pain than their left, along with the familiar aches of bruising on their flank.

This could’ve been a whole lot worse, Moonlight thought, breathing a sigh of relief.

Another savage roar cut short any further health checks, their attention drawn to the flashes of purple amongst the mountain of reddened fur.

“Pathetic little ponies!” the Ursa Major bellowed. “The wilds tremble before my fury! All shall be remade, by the will of the Nightmare Lord! Nothing can stand in the way of her power!”

Flailing harder than a bucking bronco, the nightmare bear threw itself into the undergrowth, splintering masses of trees across its bulk. Huge splinters showered over Spectre, his eyes shut tight as he pumped all his magic into a barrier spell.

But his magic was not enough to save him from injury.

Many sharp pieces shot through the protective shield from the sheer force alone; piercing through the exposed gaps in his armour.

Biting down hard on his lips, Spectre closed his eyes and stifled his screams of pain, refusing to give the monster the satisfaction of seeing him suffer. As much as he didn’t want to believe it, the truth the situation was that he and his allies were becoming overwhelmed.

In this moment, a distinct pain returned, reaching levels of physical agony; stabbing at his soul the sharp edges of regret.

This only added to the puncture wounds around his legs and shoulders, all brought upon by his decisions.

“Hold on, my love! I'll get you down!”

Spectre's eyes shot open. He wanted so badly to shout back, to tell his partner not to put their life in danger for his sake.

But he knew it would be pointless. Moonlight's personal code of duty meant they were impossible to talk down from a rescue opportunity – especially since Spectre was the victim.

A deep, throaty laugh reverberated from behind the Ursa Major's lips. “Should have fled. Should have listened!”

Its gaze fixated on Moonlight, the giant bear opened its jaws wide and charged with a shocking turn of speed.

Moonlight barely had time to blink before finding themselves between two rows of sharp, pointed teeth – twice the size of an average pony. Pulling up into a sharp climb, Moonlight flapped hard to gain altitude, but was not quick enough to avoid oblivion.

The next few seconds were a total blur. There was screaming, darkness, intense pain and paralysis; all flooding Moonlight's senses in a dizzying bombardment.

It took what felt like hours of struggling to realise what had happened to them. A tiny slither of flickering light illuminated their surroundings, bringing Moonlight to both a horrific realisation and an incredible stroke of luck.

Not only was Moonlight still alive, they were stuck between the teeth of the Ursa Major. The only serious wound was their punctured left wing, trapping them between two crooked canines out of reach of the creature's massive tongue.

A one in a million opportunity which Moonlight refused to waste.

Yet the more they tried to free themselves, the more intense pain their damaged wing felt. Moonlight dared not look back to at their grotesque wounds, as the disgusting squelch of pulverized tissue made them cringe enough.

Instead, Moonlight tried to use what tiny wiggle room they had to free themselves. Yet, every time they did, an even greater pain of snapping bones forced them to stop.

Breathing heavily, Moonlight’s vision began to fade, blood loss taking its toll.

But through the Ursa Major's constant thrashing and frustrated roars, there was another voice cutting through the din which persisted in ringing through Moonlight’s mind.

“Spit out my partner right this instant, you Luna-be-damned monster!”

It was Spectre.

While Moonlight couldn't see exactly how—beyond a few brief flickers of magic through its jaws—they were certain Spectre was fighting back.

“Spectre, my love!” Moonlight cried, hoping to Luna that they were audible over the Ursa Major's tantrum. “I'm alive! Help me!”

“Worry not, Moonlight!” Spectre replied. “I'll get you out in no time!”

Despite the confident sincerity in Spectre's voice, Moonlight could not allow themselves to wait for.

They were a Night Guard, one of Luna's chosen to serve the Night Shift on the front line. To surrender themselves to death at the hands of the very monsters they hunted would be a disgrace to everything they stood for.

Wiggling their front hooves as much as they could, Moonlight slowly forced themselves forward, biting down hard on their lip to stifle their agonised screams.

I can’t die here. I won’t leave him behind.

These were words Moonlight repeated to themselves repeatedly, the image of their coltfriend driving them to pull themselves out with every ounce of strength they could muster.

Finally, with a loud snap of their broken wing, the front half of Moonlight’s body was free.

Wrapping their hooves tight around the hilts of their swords and flicking out their remaining wing-blade, Moonlight took aim.

“In the name of Princess Luna, I will purge the nightmare from you!”

In one swift motion, Moonlight sliced through their broken wing at the base and stabbed their weapons deep into the Ursa Major's gums.

The beast bellowed in agony – a sound that shook the ground with its force.

As Moonlight was spit out of the creature's mouth, covered in a sticky combination of blood and mucus, a familiar bat pony darted past; giving them a fresh idea about how to turn the battle in their favour.

“Fluttershy, catch!” Moonlight called, throwing their weapons to Flutterbat seconds before they hit the ground.

Flutterbat grabbed the two blades with ease, giving only the briefest glance to where they came from. Turning to face the Ursa Major, a sadistic grin growing across their face, Flutterbat had only one word left to say.

“Die!”

With a burst of speed that would impress even Rainbow Dash, Flutterbat darted under a swipe of the Ursa Major's paw, plunging the blades into its flesh and dragging them across its arm.

The beast roared with enormous pain, throwing itself around to squash the assaulting bat pony.

Yet Flutterbat was not done.

In a move which drew from the deepest parts of her magic reserves, she matched the trajectory of the Ursa Major's body slam, flying over it and unleashing a flurry of slashes; pushing on until the beast’s upper back was covered in bloody scars.

“RRAAAUUUGHHHH!” the beast screamed. By now, Fluttershy knew it would be growing desperate to kill its tormentors. “I cannot fall to the likes of you! THE NIGHTMARE GROWS! THE NIGHTMARE DEVOURS! THE NIGHTMARE IS IMMORTAL!”

That was when Trixie's eyes snapped open.

This entire time, she had kept herself away from the battle, concentrating as she wove together layer after layer of a complex spell. Released from her trance, the sight that greeted her was a grisly one to say the least.

Even she, a hardened veteran of the Night Shift, found herself wincing at the sight of Moonlight laying on the ground, unconscious and bleeding profusely from their missing wing. Spectre and Flutterbat were doing their best to avoid the Ursa’s wild strikes, the number of near misses they had made it obvious they couldn’t last much longer.

The pressure was on to finish the spell, but Trixie kept pace, remaining focused on recanting the spell's final components. One slip of the tongue and it would all be over.

Much like how the moment Spectre lost his footing, he tipped forward directly into a swipe from the Ursa’s paw – screaming with pain from the force of the blow.

The second this sound met with Trixie’s ears, her spell was complete; its magic seeping into the soil beneath her foe.

“Spectre!” Trixie she, grabbing his attention. “Carve a ring into the ground around the Ursa Major, quick!”

Despite his whole body aching from the Usra’s attack, Spectre obeyed; putting all his trust in Trixie's spell. Teleporting himself onto the beast’s back once more, Spectre pushed himself to fire off one, long, continuous beam of magic, digging out the circle as instructed.

“Stupid little pony!” The Ursa laughed madly. “Should not be talking out loud about your plans! I shall bleed the Nightmare from your very soul!”

For all its bellowing bluster, the beast had forgotten that the same sentiment applied to it; this brief monologue giving Spectre time to finish the circle.

When he saw Flutterbat dragging Moonlight of the way, Spectre teleported back to Trixie, tapping deep into his magic reserved to empower her spell.

In a flash, the circle lit up, creating an arcane forcefield which towered around the full circumference.

The Ursa Major threw itself against the barrier, pounding away in an attempt at escape.

Just as Trixie had expected.

In response, the magic barrier reacted with a second surge. The beast’s limbs were paralysed; trapped by the same earth from which its infection stemmed. The more it struggled, the more the spell resisted, liquidating the ground into a combination of quicksand and entangling tree roots - their growth dramatically exacerbated by the spell mixing with the volatile curse.

As the arcane energy washed over the Ursa, Spectre added his cleansing spell to the weave; burned away at the nightmare and freeing the beast's mind from its curse.

“The nightmare's veil... is lifted...” the Ursa Major said weakly, its bloodied and burnt fur regaining some of its normal blue colouration. “I am free... to the wilds... at last...”

Minutes after the spell was cast, the trap had enveloped the beast all the way to its neck; its death a combination of blood loss and suffocation.

Looking at its pitiful state, Trixie could not help but shed a tear for the fallen creature.

“Trixie, are you...?” Spectre asked, placing a hoof on Trixie's shoulder, only to be rebuffed before he could finish the question.

“I'm fine!” Trixie lied, refusing to admit the pain for what the Ursa had become. She could deny till the end of time, but animal deaths would always be heart breaking to watch.

“F-Fluttershy...” Moonlight coughed, regaining consciousness to find Fluttebat flying to the fallen beast. “What... what are you doing?”

“Wait, what…?” Trixie’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest, gaping aghast at what they saw.

There Flutterbat was, standing on the Ursa Major's back, holding her long, silver stake between her front hooves.

With one swift motion, she stabbed the weapon it into the back of the Ursa Major's neck – carving open its flesh to drink deep from its blood spurting out.

The look on Flutterbat’s face was one of pure ecstasy, revelling in every gulp she took.

“Fluttershy, stop!” Spectre called, his attempt to reach her receiving a feral hiss in return.

“This is bad...” Trixie gulped hard. She had to do something before Flutterbat became consumed by the nightmare. “Spectre, can you put a restraining spell on Fluttershy?”

“I can certainly try.” Straining every muscle, Spectre forced as much of his remaining magic as he could into this one spell. First there was only a tiny flicker, but Spectre persisted, his face contorting with pain.

Then, in a brief flash of light, Spectre cast a magical ring around the Flutterbat, solidifying to clasp her wings and legs together.

Teleporting onto the fallen beast, Trixie stood over Flutterbat, pinning her down and teleporting them both back.

Still in a feral state, she snapped repeatedly at Trixie, wriggling back and forth in a vain attempt at escape.

“Spectre.” Trixie said, gesturing over Flutterbat’s head.

Reaching over from behind, Spectre pulled open Flutterbat's jaws.

With her friend secured, Trixie pulled out a potion from her cloak, popping off the cork and draining its contents into Flutterbat's mouth.

The effect was instant, Flutterbat convulsing and coughing violently as the colour of her coat returned to its normal shade of yellow – pupils widening out from the feral slit.

“Ugh,” Fluttershy groaned, rubbing her head as her bindings were removed. “T-Trixie? What happened? Where are the harpies?”

Trixie let out a long sigh of relief. “I'm so glad you're okay, Fluttershy,” she said, her face softening to mark the rare occasion of sharing her true feelings. “You have no need to worry. We had a bit more trouble than expected, but we won in the end.”

“Won?” Fluttershy cocked her head. “What do you mean-”

Fluttershy cut her sentence short when she spotted Moonlight, limping towards her with Spectre helping – their missing wing wrapped in a bloodied bandage.

“Oh my gosh!” Fluttershy exclaimed, running to Moonlight's side. “What happened to you, Moonlight?! Where did your other wing go? Trixie, do you know any healing spells?”

Moonlight chuckled weakly. “Good to have you back, Fluttershy. I was afraid we'd lost you for after attacking that Ursa Major.”

“Ursa Major?” Fluttershy blinked, then her eyes went wide, a flood of memories rushing back to her. “Oh no...”

Turning around, Fluttershy gasped at the sight of the fallen Ursa Major, its body lying motionless.

“Oh no, no, no, no! Please, don't be dead! Oh, sweet Celestia, what have I done?!” Fluttershy grabbed the Ursa Major's cheek between her hooves, violently shaking it with a naïve hope it was somehow still alive.

“I'm sorry, Fluttershy,” Spectre said with a dark, sombre tone. “It was infected by the nightmare. It would have killed us all if we didn't fight back. You dealt the killing blow, ending its suffering.”

“No! It wasn't me who did this!” Fluttershy screamed back, tears streaming down her face. “It-it... it was the stupid bat pony magic that made me into a monster! What if... what if I turn again when fighting Applejack? What if I end up killing her, too?! Oh, Celestia, that poor Ursa Major! I'm so sorry!”

Trixie removed her cloak and draped it over Fluttershy, embracing her as her heavy emotions poured out into her sobs.

“There, there, Fluttershy. For what it's worth, Trixie understands that you made a difficult decision. I know how cliché it sounds, but the Ursa’s infection? It wasn't your fault. It's none of our faults.”

Spectre looked back at his crippled partner, gripping their hoof tightly around his. Looking back to Fluttershy, Spectre let out a long sigh.

“No, you're wrong, Trixie,” he said flatly. “It's my fault. I thought that we could cleanse the nightmare piece by piece, teaching you the protocol. But I was wrong. I was foolish to think that this level of corruption could be so easily contained. This has gone far beyond anything I could ever comprehend, and I must take responsibility for my actions.”

“Sweetie, it's okay,” Moonlight Interjected, forcing a gentle smile. “We've been on successful cleansing missions before. How could you have known it would all come to this? I don't for a minute resent you for what happened.”

“I don't care if you resent me or not!” Spectre snapped, pulling away his hoof. One look at his partner's eyes told him what a mistake that was.

Taking a deep breath, he knelt before his lover, pulling them back into a hug and kissing them on the cheek. “I'm sorry, but I can't run from my responsibilities forever. However much or little of the outcome was intended, it was because of me that you lost your wing, and Fluttershy went feral. If I don't accept this, then I will never understand the necessary restraint which comes from being a Lunar Unicorn.”

Unclasping his breastplate, Spectre placed it face up on the ground and pulled out the gem in the centre, offering it to Trixie.

“This gem is the power limiter for all Night Guards in service. While it didn't work as effectively as other magic suppressors, it still helps to control the magic of Nightmare Moon which created us.

“I would like you two to take it; both to help Fluttershy control more of her bat pony powers, and to give you a fighting chance against Ebony. I am no longer fit to wear this insignia, but you two?

“You have both shown skill far beyond what we gave you credit for. It can't undo the damage that I've done, but it can help you to find Applejack.”

“No, wait!” Moonlight stepped forward, pulling the gem back towards Spectre while clutching their own. “Please, take mine instead. If Spectre feels he must atone for his mistakes, then please don't let him suffer for it. I can’t fly without my left wing, so I'm useless in battle. Spectre still has his magic. He can help us return to the Night Shift headquarters and face whatever judgement Luna sees fit to bestow upon us.”

Standing up, Trixie smiled at the two Night Guards. Not a grin of smug superiority, but a genuine, soft smile of gratitude.

“You know, Trixie has to admit, she was wrong about you. Maybe your plans didn't quite work out, but your ingenuity and fast thinking has benefited our quest. For that much, Trixie extends her thanks to you, a credit to the Night Shift. Should Luna judge it so, rest assured that the Humble and Eternally Forgiving: Trixie, is always here to provide a mentoring service!”

After all the horror which the Night Guards had experienced tonight, that last statement managed to give them a good chuckle.

“Thank you kindly for the gift,” Fluttershy said, smiling through a few lingering sniffles. “I'm glad I met you both. I just can’t stop worrying about what I might do to Applejack if I lose myself again, not to mention all the animals I could hurt in the process.”

“As long as you wear that gem around your neck,” replied Spectre with a reassuring smile, “then the lunar magic within you will always be under control. Beyond that, I'm certain that if anyone can pull off this rescue mission, it's you two.”

Throwing her hooves around their shoulders, Fluttershy poured the remainder of her heavy emotions into a tight. “Be careful on your way back, okay? Use my cottage if you need a rest. Pinkie Pie is looking after the place, so she will let you in.”

“We will, don't worry,” Moonlight reassured, hugging Fluttershy back. “I'm sure if we can survive an evening with that Party Pony, we can survive anything else the Everfree will throw at us!”

“Will you three cut out the lovey-dovey stuff and get going already?” Trixie groaned bitterly. “Trixie has an important job to do, you know!”

“No need to rush us,” Spectre replied, taking little stock in Trixie's impatient tone. “There is only thing left to say; until we meet again, oh Great and Powerful Trixie, it's been a pleasure working with you!”

The quartet collectively shared a chuckle between them before finally parting ways, preparing themselves mentally for their final confrontation ahead.

Author's Note

Edit: Chapter 3 re-edited and updated, 28/02/2018

The aesthetics and villains of this part were heavily inspired by the "Emerald Nightmare" from World of Warcraft: Legion. Dedicated WoW fans will spot the references pretty easily!