Medics and doctors aboard the train see to Starlight's condition, as well as any other ponies caught in the crossfire before the shield went up.

"What in tartarus was that... that THING!?" Rainbow shouts, only to immediately be shushed. Rainbow crosses her forelegs with a pout.

"There's no need to make everypony panic for no reason Rainbow." Twilight scolds, icing her horn.

"Did anypony else notice how it was controllin' the other varmints? Do you think it's the one responsible for these things acting out all of a sudden?" Applejack asks, hoof on her chin with eyes squinted in thought.

All other thoughts are stopped when a loud screech bellows out, sounding awfully close to the train. Pinkie sticks her head out of a window, looking at the thing floating fast towards the train, with the large green and orange bug things all buzzing behind it.

"Girls! We have company!" Pinkie shouts in alarm. The rest, barring Twilight, look out the windows at the approaching horde of monsters.

Rainbow Dash flies out, landing on the roof of the train much to the dismay of the rest of the group.

"What are you doing!?" Twilight yells from inside the train.

"Getting rid of our bug problem." Rainbow says in as badass a tone as she can, steeling herself for the incoming enemies.

The magenta-clad creature lands on the caboose, making its way forward at a deliberately slow pace. By the time it reaches the next train car, the caboose is ripped off the train by the bug monsters. The few ponies within screaming as they're dragged out of the caboose and flown back towards Ponyville, and the Everfree. The discarded train car careens into the nearby rocks and boulders, scattering rubble everywhere. Rainbow begins moving towards the biped quickly, galloping valiantly forward. The biped moves faster now, the next train car being dislodged and emptied. When Rainbow closes the distance, she hits the biped with her forehooves directly to center mass. They're both launched off of the speeding train. Rainbow's friends all scream in panic at losing their friend from the train, meanwhile the bugs have stopped tearing off train cars. Instead, they begin converging on Rainbow and the biped's position.

The creature gets up, without any scratches. It leers at Rainbow Dash, who is reeling from the shock put into her forelegs and upper torso from her attack. One of the orange bugs grips her in its claws, following the now floating biped back towards Ponyville.

/\__/^*^\__/\

Gorast teleports back to the base cave, reporting her inspection results to Sombra and Antroz.

"The town has been completely destroyed by the Gafna, and the Nui-Rama brought back plenty of Equestrians for our use. They've also collected some specimens of other creatures prowling around that forest. Chirox is already running experiments on some of the forest dwelling beasts."

"Excellent Gorast. My rahkshi here has brought us one of the six problematic ones. With even one of them in our custody, they can't hope to use their full power against us." Sombra says, the rahkshi bowing to him.

"Where IS our prisoner? Shouldn't we dispose of it as soon as possible?" Antroz asks, the rahi-toran on his back looking around.

"No, I have Vamprah guarding her. I have some experiments of my own I'd like to run. After all, she IS one of the only six capable of using a highly dangerous form of magic, which has proven time and again capable of obliterating all of the inner darkness from most beings. I barely survived both times, from a piece of myself I left behind for that very reason." He turns to the map, moving one of the six colorful stones far away from the others, then turning back to his siblings. "Alone, she cannot use that power, and neither can the rest. But the capability still exists within her." Sombra gestures to a small pile of transparent vermilion spheres. "I have Mutran working on some shadow leeches. Soon, we will capture the rest of them, and turn them into shadow versions of themselves, their powers at our command. However, there is another source of their power we need to secure." He points to a miniature carving of a heart, which is sitting in the center of the Crystal Empire's location on the map. "The crystal heart must be destroyed, so that it cannot be used against us either. Without either of those means of defense, Equestria will be ours! And then, we can move on to the next world to conquer." Sombra elaborates, turning his focus back to the map, staring at the remaining five colored stones.

/\__/^*^\__/\

Rainbow slowly comes to, only to be met with near darkness, and a cold, metallic feeling of chains and braces around her limbs and torso.

"W-what the!?" She says in a raised tone as she tugs at her bonds, to no avail.

She notices that she feels weaker than normal, less energetic. And then, she notices a pair of glowing reddish-orange eyes in the dimly lit room, along with its owner's dark blue, silver, and black armor glinting in the faint light.

"Hey! Who the hay do you think you are!? Get me out of this, or I'll... I'll..." Rainbow falls silent, those eyes unblinking, unmoving, as if they're staring into her soul.

Upon further inspection, the creature looks... bat like. Whatever this thing is, it's not making a sound, or moving. Just then, a door opens, as a green and black figure with similar bat wings enters the room. The metallic footsteps echoing in the no longer silent room.

"Thank you, Vamprah. That will be all for now. I've been given the task of equine experimentation." The new figure says as the silent one crawls out of the room.

Wait, did he just say experimentation!? Rainbow begins struggling again, only to be reminded of her weakened state.

The being chuckles at her. "Oh, don't worry. I won't be experimenting on you... yet... After all, I can't risk you dying from anything. No, first I'm going to use one of these expendable ones. THEN I'll get to you~." The sick minded weirdo cackles, as a bound pegasus is brought into the room.

"You won't get away with this, whatever you are!" Rainbow yells with defiance.

"Oooh, how bold. And for your information, I'm Mutran. Now where was I..."

Rainbow begins to interject, only to discover she can't even talk anymore. Her mouth moves, but nothing comes out.

"Ah, yes. Shadow leeches. Thank you for letting me finish my thought." Mutran half-mocks as he pulls the orange orb in his chest out.

Carefully, he reaches into it, pulling out a single blue, ugly looking thing. He tosses it onto the pegasus, watching as it begins to drain away her inner light. The writhes around, silently screaming as she begins to mutate from the creature's effects. Her wings become membranous, like those of a bat. Fangs protrude from her jaw. Her irises turning cat-like. Her fur color seems to drain away, becoming a much darker shade than normal. Once the transformation is complete, the pegasus breaks her chains, standing up with a far more sinister look than before. All Rainbow can do is stare into the pegasus' malice filled eyes. Mutran cackles again, removing his mask's effect on the former pegasus. She joins in with chortles of her own, walking out of the room with a newfound purpose in her hoofsteps. Rainbow glares at Mutran so harshly, even Fluttershy would be proud of it.

Mutran looks at her with smug satisfaction. "Your turn! I hope you like bats!"

Author's Note

Well then, this seems to be quite the pickle... Stay tuned for more to come!