Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

After a short time spent exploring, Glimmer Shine's group found a way down in the form of a set of stairs that doubled back on themselves.

To think that they would miss the empty halls of the main floor was ridiculous, at least it would have been before they saw what they would be stepping into.

Upstairs, there were at least the decaying remains of grand and awe-inspiring décor. They might even catch a glimpse of the outside world through a window or an opening into the courtyard, but this hollow comfort completely vanished as they descended the cracked steps into the echoing corridors.

Applejack brought up the rear of the group as Glimmer and Glitter led the way with their detection charms. The orange mare wanted to make sure that nothing would creep up on them and steal one of her friends away.

Fluttershy was staying firmly in the center of the group. She kept a tight grip on her strobe. So tight, in fact, that it was a wonder she hadn’t accidentally discharged the sensitive vial.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash kept a vigilant eye on their surroundings as their vested leaders focused on keeping them headed toward the distant energy signatures. They both kept their silver weapons at the ready in case something lunged out at them from within a darkened room.

Glitterball paused before a three-way intersection as she felt a vibration against her hoof. She looked down to the second vial hanging from the cord she was holding, only to see the yellow liquid inside glowing brightly toward the rightmost portion.

"Heads up. We might have company." Glitter whispered, tapping the vial to point it out.

Glimmer Shine glanced down to his own detector before looking to where the red sand was pointing. Of course, the life energy signatures they were following were toward the right. “Stay sharp, everyone.” He said, quietly pulling out his dagger and taking the lead.

The others all shared uneasy looks with each other before following behind. They dreaded the thought of fighting the pale ponies again, but if that was what it would take to save their friends, then they would have to manage.

Creeping along at a measured pace, the group made extra sure to stay alert and circle around each other to keep an eye on their rear at all times.

Glitter held her detection vial out, following the yellow light as it shifted around and trying to determine where the creature it belonged to was hiding. Glimmer Shine followed her gaze, keeping a steady grip on his knife and keeping ready to attack anything lurking in the dark rooms they were passing.

As they worked their way around the lower corridors, passing through a hallway softly lit by moonlight from holes in the ceiling above, the two vested ponies started to make a disconcerting discovery. As the red sand grew in size, indicating that they were getting closer to whatever ponies were trapped downstairs, the yellow light in their other vial was also getting brighter at around the same rate.

Taking this as a sign to hurry up, the ponies quickened their pace as much as they could without making excessive noise.

Finally, as they rounded the next corner, the trail ended. The glowing sand in their vials briefly filled with light before shifting to the right, indicating that they had passed the source of the reading. As they both backed up and converged their vials, however, they discovered a solid wall in their way.

“That can’t be right…” Glimmer Shine muttered.

Rarity wrinkled her expression as she saw the two ponies looking equally confused at their respective vials. She didn’t know much about how the charms worked, but it seemed as though they were as close as they could get. “What does that mean? Are we here?”

“I don’t see how we could be,” Applejack added while looking around. The nearest door to a room was on the opposite wall, and they couldn’t even see a door in their immediate vicinity otherwise. “Are you sure those dohickeys of yours are workin’?”

Glitterball looked down to her vial in self-doubt for a moment before glancing to the other detector. Even the yellow vial was glowing whenever she pointed it toward the wall. “The readings are accurate. Whatever life signature we’ve been following is behind this wall… but so is that paranormal presence.”

“Maybe there’s a hidden door or something?” Rainbow Dash inferred. “This is an old castle, after all.”

“You might be right about that, Rainbow.” Glimmer Shine muttered pensively as he tapped a hoof to the wall lightly. It sounded hollow. “But if that’s the case… where is-” He scanned along the wall, feeling around for false bricks or other triggers, before pausing and looking up to the two sconces above.

One of the torches was missing, and the other was unlit. Upon closer inspection, it didn’t seem like this torch could be lit. It looked like it wasn't even wood.

Glimmer Shine and Glitterball stared at the odd-looking torch for a moment before meeting eyes and smirking.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Glitter asked.

“Always.” Glimmer replied, taking out his crossbow and stepping back.

The others watched as the unicorn grasped the sconce in her magical aura. She seemingly fiddled with it for a moment before it twisted sideways with an audible click. There was a low grating of stone, and suddenly a crack formed as a portion of the wall popped open.

Thinking back to the paranormal energy being picked up by their detectors, Glitter brought a hoof to her lips to silence any excited cheers that were about to be made. She waggled her crossbow a bit, signaling for everyone to get ready, which they promptly did.

After backing up and leveling their crossbows to the floor, ready to flick them up and annihilate any threat they might find on the other side, Glimmer glanced to the group behind them before switching on his flashlight and giving his unicorn friend a nod.

With that, Glitterball flipped her own light on and wrapped her magic around the corner of the wall. With a brief push, the wall slid open the rest of the way, allowing their beams of light to illuminate a small room with some colorful shapes huddled at the back.

There was a brief moment of recognition as the group made out the sight of three fillies huddled around two other ponies. At the same time, the fillies recognized the sight of their friends standing in the doorway.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity spoke up, poking her head out of the pile of ponies in the doorway and smiling brightly at her sister.

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle parroted before smiling back. “Rarity!” She cheered, rushing forward and leaping into the group, only to be picked up in a magical aura and brought into the warm embrace of her sister.

“Sis’!” Apple Bloom called, scampering forward as a familiar orange shape moved to the front of the crowd.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack smiled, catching the running filly in her forelegs and holding her close. She felt a few joyous tears welling up as she lovingly buried her sister into her form. “I’m so sorry… I should'a never let you go.”

Scootaloo walked up to the group and grinned cheerfully as she saw the many bright faces of her friends. “You guys are a sight for sore eyes.” She said, paying particular attention to Rainbow Dash, who seemed happy to return the sentiment.

However, as Rarity pulled back and looked at Sweetie Belle a bit closer, her bright expression faded as she noticed a veritable smearing of drying blood covering her sister’s neck. “Oh my goodness… what happened to your neck, Sweetie?!”

Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her neck, only to feel matted fur where her puncture wounds were. Although the wounds themselves had stopped bleeding, they still looked unsettling to any outside observer.

“Who did that to you?” Rarity asked, looking up to see if one of the two adult ponies knew anything. It was around this time that she and many of the others noticed the pale hue and red eyes of the peach mare. Rarity produced a shocked gasp and held Sweetie Belle close as she backed up slightly. “Was it her?!”

As they now saw one of the pale ponies so close by, Applejack and Rainbow Dash readied their daggers and stepped in front of the three fillies, while Fluttershy merely stared ahead fearfully and shakily drew her strobe.

Glimmer Shine and Glitterball twitched their bows up, but before they could even do anything, Scootaloo broke free of the crowd, got in front of the pale mare, and stood on her hind legs to block their aim, forcing them to lower their weapons.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Scootaloo waved frantically.

“Scootaloo, what are you doing?! Get out of the way!” Glimmer Shine pleaded, eyeing the peach pony with an alarmed look on his face. Many of the others prepared to charge in and rescue the trio from the perceived threat.

Suddenly, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom broke free from the crowd and joined their pegasus friend in protecting the pale mare.

“Apple Bloom, get away from that thing!” Applejack said adamantly. “She’s dangerous!”

“Sweetie Belle, what are you thinking?!” Rarity squeaked in alarm.

“Please, don’t hurt her!” Sweetie pleaded.

“She’s not like the others!” Apple Bloom insisted.

Before the situation could escalate further, the fillies were surprised to feel a cold hoof landing on their shoulders and gently pulling them away. They looked up to see Scribble stepping in front of them.

“Girls… it’s ok.” Scribble said softly before looking up at the group.

“Scribble, wait!” Blank Page reached out for his sister, only to cringe and falter as his bad leg hindered his movement.

Scribble offered a concerned look to her brother and her new friends before sighing and looking to the group, who were understandably still on alert. “I take it you’re their friends?” She asked.

After a moment of hesitation, Glitterball spoke on behalf of the group. “We are…”

“I almost didn’t think you’d find us… but I’m glad you did.” Scribble smiled a bit before looking down at the fillies. “Look… I don’t know if you can do anything for me, but please take care of them and my brother. I’ll do whatever you deem necessary… as long as they’re safe.” She said, lowering her head and preparing herself for whatever came next.

Although they were still suspicious of the pale mare, Glitterball and Glimmer Shine looked to each other with uncertain expressions before facing her again. They then lowered their weapons, much to the surprise of much of the group.

“What’s your name?” Glitterball asked.

“Scholarly Scribble.” The mare answered plainly, still unsure of where this was going.

“Well…” Glitterball paused, her eyes lost in brief thought. “Have you drank any blood?”

Scribble shook her head. “No… not yet.”

Scootaloo was still a bit antsy as she watched the situation unfold from the side. “There’s a cure for ponies like her! You can cure her… can’t you?” She asked, her voice wavering from worry and doubt.

“You guys seem confident in her.” Glimmer noted lightheartedly.

“Of course we are!” Apple Bloom chimed in.

Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “She saved us!”

Glimmer Shine smirked a bit and folded his crossbow to put back on his vest. “Well, we can’t exactly hurt the one who saved you, can we?”

Glitterball stowed her weapon as well, and after a moment of hesitation, the others put their weapons away too.

Now that the tension in the room had dissolved, the group all filed into the hole in the wall and returned to greeting the fillies and getting introduced to their new friends.

Rarity walked up to the peach mare, wearing a bit of a regretful frown. “Scribble… er, may I call you that?” She asked sheepishly.

“Of course.” Scribble replied with a small smile.

Rarity bit her lip and looked down for a moment before sighing and flattening her ears. “I’m sorry for being so hostile with you.”

“I am too.” Applejack chimed in as she walked up. She then glanced back to see Apple Bloom walking up to her and reached down to pat her sibling’s head. “And I wanted to say thank you… y’know, for keepin’ ‘em safe.”

“Did you really save them?” Rainbow Dash asked, more curious than anything.

“Well… I wouldn’t say th-” Scribble fiddled her hooves together sheepishly until she was interrupted by her brother speaking up for her.

“She sure did.”

Applejack and the others looked up to see the white stallion sitting near the back of the room, getting his leg checked out by Glimmer Shine and Glitterball.

“We got attacked by another…” Page paused uncomfortably as he looked up to his sister, “ahem… Anyway, we were in pretty rough shape before Scribble showed up. I tried my best to keep them safe, but, as you can see, I’m a little handicapped at the moment.” He gestured down to his leg before cringing as Glitterball gently wrapped an ice pack around it.

“Heh… you’ve got a pretty amazing sister there, uh…” Rainbow Dash paused as she realized she hadn’t heard the stallion’s full name. “...Page?”

“Blank Page.” The stallion chimed in, flashing a brief smile to the group before sliding that look over to his sister. “And yeah… she is something else, that’s for sure.”

“Pagey, you’re embarrassing me,” Scribble whined. “Although… I can’t really blush right now, so I guess I just gave myself away.” She chuckled uncomfortably.

Although the peach mare intended on lightening the mood, Page’s expression fell as she drew attention to her current condition.

“So, what’s the plan now?” Page asked, looking to the obvious monster hunters of the group. “You guys are supposed to be experts on this kind of thing, right? Is there any way you can help her?”

Glitterball flashed a sympathetic frown. “I’m afraid there isn’t much we can do for her at the moment. There is supposed to be a cure, but all of our books and equipment are back in Canterlot, so it will have to wait until we get out of here.”

“And when will that be?” Scribble asked, a bit more eager than she meant. “Umm… if you don’t mind me asking? I don’t like being the fanged elephant in the room, but I am sort of on a time limit here.” She trailed her eyes away uneasily and forced her mouth closed.

“We’ve still got some friends that we need to find.” Glimmer explained. “But after that, trust me when I say our first priority is getting everyone home.”

“And don’t worry. We have a way to keep you… umm… how do I put this?” Glitter frowned at how blunt the subject was. “Docile… if you start getting thirsty.” She said, patting a pocket on her vest that seemed to hold two syringes.

Scribble seemed a bit troubled by the implication of her being a wild animal that needed controlling, but she nodded and flashed a grateful expression anyway. “Good… I’m glad to hear it.”

“Alright,” Glitterball said, standing up as she finished wrapping Blank Page’s leg, “that should help with the pain for the time being.”

Page looked down to his leg, which was starting to numb out from the icy sensation. However uncomfortable it might have been, he couldn’t exactly feel the pain if he couldn’t feel anything at all. “Thanks.”

“Now what do we do?” Scootaloo asked.

After some shared looks of confusion, the group eventually settled their eyes on their two vested leaders. After all, the pair were the most experienced in situations like these, and they were the only ones able to communicate with their other friends.

“Now…” Glimmer Shine said, taking his hoof and putting it to his ear. “We call the others and see how they’re doing.”

-Meanwhile-

Upstairs, Shining Armor and his small troop were busy making their way through the castle toward their goal.

While the downstairs layout was more rigid and meant for militaristic purposes, there seemed to be a change on the second floor. Instead of having rows of rooms connected by long hallways, the curving corridors weaved through and into rooms less linearly. The rooms up here seemed to be more of what one might expect from a lavish castle as well, not to say that there weren’t still barren holding rooms and cells in a few places.

The strangest thing that they found, however, was a complete lack of ponies, pale or otherwise.

Sure, Tom could sense vampires around them, and Sunspot and Sparkplug’s detection charms were aglow, but the readings they were getting were vague, and other than the general location of the alicorn, they couldn’t tell much of anything other than they hadn’t seen anyone since they arrived.

As they crept along a lengthy balcony exposed to the elements, Pinkie paused for a moment to lean on the edge and look down. The night sky above was beautiful, but the view of the cliff edge and the harrowing drop below was a touch unsettling. It was no wonder that griffons were the ones who built such a place.

“Wow… this place is kind of pretty.” Pinkie noted with a whistle before shifting her attention back to the castle around her. “Too bad there’s such a pouty castle here to ruin the scenery.”

Sparkplug twitched an eyebrow at the pink mare. “How can a castle be pouty?”

“Have you seen this place?” Pinkie retorted, gesturing around her. “It’s all sad and grumpy. If it was a pony, it would probably be the meanest pony around… even meaner than Raincloud.”

“And… who is that?” Sparkplug blinked.

“One of the hooded ponies.” Sunspot chimed in.

Tom sighed from the front of the group. “Is that seriously what we’re calling them still? Didn’t they ever come up with a name for themselves?”

“How is ‘the hooded ponies’ a bad name? It describes them perfectly!” Pinkie stated.

“Not everyone that wears hoods is evil, Pinkie.” Sparkplug insisted.

“To be fair, not many ponies decide to wear black cloaks on their Sunday stroll.” Shining Armor added.

Sparkplug finally sighed and let her shoulders sink. “I guess it does kind of give off a shady vibe.” She said, trying to ignore the smug look on Pinkie’s face.

Suddenly, a voice in her head made Sunspot give pause.

“Sssh!” The pegasus held up a hoof, eliciting the group to slow to a halt as she then pressed that hoof to her ear. Sparkplug paused to listen as well.

“Everything ok up there, guys?” Glimmer Shine’s voice spoke softly.

“Yeah, we’re doing good so far. It’s been pretty uneventful… like, uncomfortably uneventful.” Sunspot said, taking a wary glance around at the many openings back into the castle.

“It’s been the same down here,” Glitterball chimed in, “but we do have some good news to share. We found the Crusaders!”

“You did?” Sparkplug blurted as both she and Sunspot smiled. The others weren’t sure what was going on, but it could only be good if the two mares were suddenly so happy.

“They were hiding in some room with a stallion and a mare. They’ve been through a rough patch, but they’re alright.” Glitter explained.

“What about Spike? Is he down there?” Tom interjected.

There was an uncomfortable pause.

“No… I’m afraid not. There are no more energy signatures down here. He must be up there somewhere with Twilight and the Princess.” Glimmer said.

Although the news that the dragon was still missing was a bit disheartening, the fact that the three fillies were safe was enough to keep the mood bright.

“So, what are you guys doing next?” Sunspot asked curiously.

“Well, for starters we’re going to get the girls to safety. We’ll probably have Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy fly them down to the carriages. After that… I’m thinking we meet up with you guys.” Glimmer Shine suggested.

“Are we sure that’s a good idea? Aren’t we kind of in the lion’s den right now?” Sparkplug chimed in.

“If we’re going to be fighting a pack of lions, I’d rather have numbers on our side,” Tom said. “You guys should be fine coming up as long as you steer clear of any significant energy readings and head straight to us.”

“Stay away from the yellow lights, follow the red lights… sounds good. We’ll be there shortly.” Glitterball said.

“Keep us posted.” Glimmer Shine added.

“Same to you.” Sunspot said, dropping her hoof and turning to the others, who were waiting eagerly for someone to fill them in.

“Well…? Am I right in thinking that was good news?” Shining Armor asked with a hesitant smile.

Sunspot produced a pleased smirk. “They found the girls. They’re ok.”

Shining Armor and Pinkie both deflated with relief.

“Thank Celestia for that,” Shining said.

“Speaking of which, let’s keep moving. We need to find the others as soon as possible.” Tom suggested.

“Right.” Sunspot nodded, taking the lead once more with her detection vials held close. She and Sparkplug followed the glowing red portions of the sandy charms, taking care to keep an eye on their other charm to keep them away from any unpleasant denizens of the castle.

The group snaked their way through more rooms and hallways. They found a reading room, a lounge, a ballroom, all stripped of most recognizable furniture and decorations over time. Eventually, they started getting close to one of the life signatures they were tracking.

Tom halted the group before a corner at the end of the hallway. He looked back to them, paying particular attention to the two suited mares and their detection charms, which seemed to indicate that they were right on top of whoever they were tracking. He then poked his head out and scanned around the next hallway.

Nothing but empty silence greeted him, and although the light from Shining Armor’s horn didn’t shine that far out, he couldn’t immediately see any movement. He did, however, spot a door with a latch on it to his immediate right.

After a moment of concentration, the boy took a steady breath and used his senses. He was working with faint traces of what would already be finicky energy signatures on a good day, but from what he could tell, all of the energy attached to vampiric entities was still away from them.

“Come on.” He gestured for the ponies to follow as he moved out from the corner.

As they all stepped into the next hallway, Shining Armor moved forward a bit and kept an eye on their surroundings as everyone else gathered around the door.

Sunspot and Sparkplug both brought their vials close to the door. The sand inside was now fully aglow. They nodded to each other before turning to see Tom approach.

The human rested a hand on the latch to the door. He glanced around at the others before shifting his focus ahead and unlocking it. The door opened with little issue, revealing another barren and bleak-looking room.

However, this room had a familiar purple dragon sitting in the center of it, his face buried in his knees until he heard the sound of the door opening and looked up.

For a moment, a flash of fear came over his face. When he saw a familiar band of ponies and a human standing in the doorway, however, his features brightened immediately.

“Tom!” Spike shot up from the floor and rushed forward. He wrapped his arms around the human’s leg and squeezed tight.

Tom smiled and reached down to rest a palm on the dragon’s head as the others gathered around.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Spike said, stepping back and wiping a joyful tear from his eye as he looked around at his friends. Pinkie Pie and Shining Armor knelt down and hugged the young drake.

“It’s good to see you too, buddy.” Shining smiled.

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” Tom asked, frowning a bit as he noticed a slight cut on the dragon’s neck.

“I’m fine…” Spike said before suddenly becoming alarmed. “But you need to find the others!”

“Easy, Spike. We already found the Crusaders.” Shining Armor assured softly, hoping to get the dragon to settle down.

“You did?”

Shining nodded. “Yeah. They’re safe.”

Spike looked down for a moment before glancing back to the room he was imprisoned in. “Wh… what about Twilight?”

The stallion’s expression fell as he hesitated from answering. Spike’s already worried frown shifted to a pale stare.

“No… no, no. That alicorn took her! He’s probably hurting her right now!”

“Spike,” Tom said, watching uneasily as the dragon’s breathing quickened and his hands started jittering. “Spike… hey, hey, look at me.” He clamped his hands on Spike’s shoulders and gave him a gentle shake.

Spike looked up at the human, his breathing still a bit shaky and a slight tremble to his body. His darting eyes seemed to want to lose focus again so he could go off on another spiral of troubling thoughts, but they softened as he saw concern and reassurance in his friend’s face.

“I promise you… we will find Twilight.” Tom said, keeping a firm but comforting grip on the dragon. “We came all this way for you. We’re not leaving anyone behind.”

It took a moment, but Spike finally managed to take a steady breath and stop himself from trembling. “Ok.”

Now that the young dragon had calmed down, Sunspot shifted her attention back to her detection vial. She separated herself from the group a bit and scanned the vial around, seeing how the sand inside reacted. After some brief zeroing in, she discovered the only other energy signature on this floor seemed to be somewhere ahead.

“I got another reading.” The pegasus announced.

“That must be Twilight and the Princess.” Shining reasoned. At least he hoped it was. If it was someone else, then that meant that his sister and the alicorn no longer gave off body heat or life energy, and that was a scenario that he didn’t want to consider.

Tom gave Spike one final reassuring look before standing up. “Stay close to Pinkie, Spike." He instructed.

"Ok…" Spike said, looking up to see the pink mare walking up to him and smiling.

"You'll be safe with me, Spike. Don’t you worry your lil’ scales!" Pinkie giggled as she ruffled the top of his head. Spike could tell she was just trying to cheer him up, not that he minded. The lighthearted mare and her antics were a welcome change from his previous situation.

With that, everyone started moving again. This time, however, they were all the more anxious about the potential dangers of the castle now that they had the young dragon with them.

-Elsewhere-

It took a tense few minutes for Glitterball and her group to make their way back upstairs and to the front door.

Their detection charms were basically rendered useless due to the peach mare following them, escorting her brother and helping him walk. Even if earlier readings seemed to indicate that they were in the clear, it was hard not to imagine one of the pale ponies sneaking up on them and pouncing. Somehow, it was eerily quiet in the dimly lit halls. They hadn’t come across another vampire since they arrived, and that was more worrying than they thought it would be.

Once they made it to the front door, the group quickly decided that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy would ferry those staying at the carriages down the cliff for the sake of expediency.

A few trips later, and the pair landed with the Crusaders. Rainbow Dash had Scootaloo in her forelegs and Apple Bloom on her back, while Fluttershy had Sweetie Belle in her grasp.

Fluttershy quickly walked up to one of the carriages, offering a friendly nod to the guards before she opened the door and set the white filly inside. Rainbow Dash did the same, and soon the trio was sitting in relative comfort, not accounting for the biting cold of the night.

"There… you guys will be safe here while we finish up," Rainbow said.

"I think there are some blankets in one of the cargo compartments if you get cold," Fluttershy added in a concerned manner.

"Thank you." Sweetie Belle said on behalf of her friends, though all of them were wearing appreciative smiles.

As the two pegasi closed the door and started to leave, Apple Bloom suddenly hopped up to the window and waved to get their attention.

"Wait!"

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash turned around and looked to the filly with mild confusion.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked.

Apple Bloom trailed her eyes down briefly before softening her expression and looking to the pair, paying particular attention to Rainbow Dash. "Can you take care of Applejack for me?" She asked softly. "I know she acts tough, but she has a habit of bitin' off more than she can chew."

"Could you please take care of Rarity too?" Sweetie Belle chimed in, struggling to hop up and join her friend momentarily before finally finding her way up.

The two mares couldn’t help but smile as they glanced at each other before turning to the fillies.

Rainbow Dash adopted her usual smirk of confidence and chuckled. "Don’t worry about it. I won’t let anything bad happen to your big sisters or anyone else." She assured. "Now, you kids be good for the guards… Try not to annoy them too much." She added with a slight wink.

Scootaloo shared a bright smile with her friends. For the first time in what felt like forever, they felt good about their situation again.

"Stay safe you two." Scootaloo waved.

Fluttershy offered a slight wave to the fillies before walking away with her cyan friend. As they walked away from one carriage, they passed by another with its door open and paused to look inside at the occupants.

Scholarly Scribble and Blank Page were nestled inside, sitting across from each other. The stallion had his bad leg propped up and a water bottle clutched tightly in one hoof. A syringe full of Tom’s blood was sitting nearby. The pale mare seemed in a constant state of unease, though she was glad to be with her brother again.

“How are you guys holding up?” Rainbow asked, trying her best not to stare too long at the pale mare.

“Well… I’ve been turned into a vampire and gotten to meet some national heroes and the princess herself.” Scribble stated. “Kind of a mixed bag… but I think we’re doing alright, all things considered.”

“That’s good to hear.” Fluttershy smiled a bit. “And don’t worry. Our friends can find that cure for you. I’m sure of it.” She said, to which both of the siblings smiled.

“Thank you… all of you.” Page said sincerely before trailing his eyes to the cliff behind the two mares and letting his expression fall. “Are you guys going to be ok? I mean… I know that you’re the Elements of Harmony and that you’ve saved Equestria more times than I can count… but isn’t this a bit much?”

Rainbow Dash looked to Fluttershy, who had a bit of veiled worry in her eyes. Her eyes softened as she thought back to Blue Bolt and imagined one of her friends ending up like him. However, she forced these thoughts from her head and turned to the pair in the carriage with a confident smile.

“We take care of each other… That’s what friends do, right?” She asked rhetorically before getting a bit uncomfortable. “Anyway… you guys worry about staying warm. We’ll worry about the rest.”

Page hesitated a moment as he noticed a familiar emotion in the cyan mare’s eyes. He had seen it before and experienced it himself recently. Still, he saw another emotion in her eyes that burned brighter than the grief. A desire to protect her friends.

“You guys stay warm too. It’s pretty cold in that castle. Trust me, I spent a whole night spooning a wolfskin rug.” Page said lightheartedly.

The two mares waved to the siblings before stepping away from the carriages and walking back over to the cliff. They spent a few moments staring up at the plateau at the top.

Fluttershy looked over to see a troubled look on her friend’s face, frowning a bit as she did. She reached over and put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “It’ll be ok.”

Rainbow turned to see her friend wearing a sympathetic look. She wrinkled her mouth a bit and brought a hoof up to rest on the yellow mare’s before taking a shaky breath. “I know.” She said, making a silent promise to herself before spreading her wings and taking off. They were returning to hell frozen over, and they both knew it, but until all their friends were safe, they would gladly dive back in.

Back up on the castle’s upper floor, Tom and the others crept along in tense silence as they followed the last heat signature.

Perhaps it was the fact that they now had Spike with them to protect, or maybe it was the anticipation of finding their remaining friends and making a hasty retreat before they ran into something bad, but the anxiety in the air had increased for much of the group.

Spike clung to Pinkie Pie’s side as they walked along. Even with constant assurances from the lighthearted mare, he couldn’t keep himself from darting his eyes side to side and clutching at her fur as his thoughts ran wild about what was potentially waiting for them in the echoing rooms.

“So… what’s the plan on beating that alicorn guy?” He asked, looking around at the others hopefully. The longer they went without responding, the more his heart sank. “You do have a plan to beat him, right?”

“I’ll be honest, Spike. We’re kind of playing it fast and loose right now.” Tom explained.

“Oh,” Spike muttered, his eyes losing focus as he stared at the floor.

“But hey, we’ve gotten this far. That’s something to celebrate, right?” Sparkplug asked, looking around with a stiff smile that only faded as she saw the others wearing troubled expressions.

“As much as I want to celebrate finding Spike and the Crusaders, I think we should wait until we’re at least out of this place before we do it.” Pinkie said. It was hard for even her to remain positive in such dreary surroundings with so much danger lurking nearby.

Sunspot blinked at the pink mare. “Wow… it just hit me how deep in we must be if Pinkie wants to wait before celebrating.”

“Welcome to the ball of insanity that is our current situation.” Shining Armor produced a dry chuckle as he kept focusing on their path. “Let’s keep the fun times rolling, shall we?”

Just then, both Sunspot and Sparkplug felt a vibration against their chests.

“Speaking of fun times.” Sunspot groaned as she picked up her detection vial and looked down to it. As she did, her eyes widened slightly. “Woah… when did…?”

“Sssh!” Shining Armor hushed the group as an echoing sound pricked his ears from ahead and to the left.

Sunspot and the others looked up at the sound of hoofsteps. A room was just ahead of them, with what looked to be several archways opening up into the same lengthy expanse of a space, and although they couldn’t see much of the inside from the angle they were at, they could tell that the noise was coming from within.

Glancing back down to see the intensely glowing yellow liquid in her vial pointing to the left, Sunspot shared a hesitant look with her friends before reaching down and pulling out her dagger. Sparkplug did the same a moment later, and they both prepared to step forward until Tom held a hand out.

“Stay here.” The boy whispered. Before anyone could even voice a complaint, he walked ahead and stepped through the first archway into the room.

“Tom, wait!” Shining Armor called after the boy in a hushed tone, reaching out to him to no avail. He growled under his breath before glancing back at the others and then cautiously following behind.

Sunspot, Sparkplug, and Pinkie hesitated for a moment before following the stallion. Spike seemed reluctant to go anywhere near the room, but he was even more averse to being alone, so he kept close to his pink companion.

The ponies cautiously stepped through the first archway, only to be greeted by a much more open space than they anticipated. The curved ceiling was roughly the same height as out in the halls, perhaps a little higher, but with the increased width of the room, it felt much grander and more exposed.

Glassless windows with wrought iron lattices in decorative patterns let the light from the moon in to paint the dirty stone floor in a pale glow. It was hard to tell if the windows were always glassless, or if they had been broken at some point.

Whatever purpose the room originally held, it was mostly empty now. Empty, save for a lone figure standing at the far end of the room near another wooden door.

A lone figure that seemed eerily familiar.

The ponies all saw Tom standing a bit ahead of them, staring at the figure with a speechless expression of stunned dread. And as the figure stepped forward, creating more echoed hoofbeats as it sauntered into the light, the ponies all immediately recognized her.

“Princess!” Spike gasped excitedly, preparing to take off and run straight up to the alicorn before a hoof clamped down on his shoulder.

“Wait a minute, Spike…” Shining Armor said, looking at the as of yet speechless alicorn a bit closer.

Celestia’s form seemed frightfully pale, and it didn’t seem to just be from the light of the moon. Almost all at once, the group noticed a glint of red in her eyes, and the pieces all clicked together, however much they wished otherwise.

A series of stunned gasps came as many of the ponies either recoiled, covered their mouths, or simply stared ahead with jaws agape in silent disbelief.

“No…” Spike muttered, his arms falling limp to his sides as his eyes began to tremble. The more the reality of what he was looking at hit him, a few tears welled up in his eyes. “This… this can’t be happening… She can’t be…”

Meanwhile, Tom was still silently dealing with his own shock. He clenched his fist and grit his teeth as he saw the slack stare and posture of Equestria’s ruler standing there like a guard dog on its leash, waiting to be ordered what to do next. He couldn’t believe that Celestia, the closest thing he had to a mentor figure now, his best friend’s teacher and his own personal friend in some ways, was now reduced to a semi-lucid murderous shell of her former self.

Sunspot looked over as she noticed her human friend breathing a bit heavier. She watched him look to the floor briefly before he released the tension in his body and exhaled. He then started walking forward.

“Tom, what are you doing?” The pegasus asked.

“You’re not going to fight her, are you?” Pinkie added, her jaw trembling slightly at the thought of the human having to do battle with the kind and benevolent alicorn.

Tom paused and turned to see his friends looking at him with concerned faces. He thought for a moment before wrinkling his lip and sighing. “Go find Twilight.” He instructed plainly, adopting a serious expression.

“What?” Shining Armor narrowed his eyes in confusion. “What are you thinking? We’re not going to leave you to deal with this by yourself.” He insisted.

“I’ve got this handled.” Tom insisted. “Something tells me this won’t be pretty, and I’m the immortal one, remember? Besides…. I’m not going to let you guys fight your princess. Find Twilight, and I’ll catch up with you.”

“Like hay!” Sunspot chimed in. “There’s no way we’re just going to-” She stepped forward, only to be stopped by Shining Armor.

Shining stared at the boy for a moment with a conflicted expression. He looked around at the others, only to frown as he realized that the human was right in some regard. The thought of fighting a morally suppressed and unmerciful Celestia made him more than a little nervous, especially with so many of his friends with him. If any of them fought, then there was a big chance that they wouldn’t be leaving this room.

“You’ll call us if you get into any trouble?” Shining asked.

Tom half-smiled. “You know me… There isn’t any trouble I can’t handle.”

Shining Armor let his stare linger a moment longer before giving a solemn nod. He then turned around and gestured for the others to follow. “Come on, everyone. Let’s go.”

“Shining… we can’t just go!” Spike insisted. “Isn’t there something we can do to help him?”

“If we want to help, we should find Twilight and be ready to leave when he… makes her more willing to come with us,” Shining said, looking to the dragon with soft eyes. He glanced up at the three mares, only to see them still wearing stunned expressions of dismay or refusal. “Sunspot, Sparkplug… let him do his thing.”

“Are you ordering me?” Sunspot asked. “Because the last time I followed an order to leave like this, Princess Luna almost died.”

“Then don’t make me order you… please.” Shining said softly.

The pegasus stole another glance at the human, her eyes softening as she found herself looking to Celestia before she clenched them shut and produced a begrudging sigh. She then turned and walked away.

Sparkplug and Pinkie were still frozen where they stood, speechless and conflicted about what to do. Nothing felt like a good choice to them. They didn’t want to fight, but they didn’t want to flee. They expected to find the princess and rescue her, but never like this.

Finally, Sparkplug followed after her teammate and captain. Pinkie looked to see Tom facing off at a distance with the unmoving unicorn, a few tears welling up in her eyes before she sniffled and tugged Spike forward to get him moving.

“Wait… wait! You can’t be serious!” Spike protested, tugging to free his arm from Pinkie’s grip. He looked back and reached for his human friend, only to find Tom staring ahead solemnly. “Let me go! I have to stay and help!” He pleaded, much to Pinkie’s dismay. She herself was barely able to tear herself away, so hearing the dragon’s heart-wrenching shouts made her fledgling tears run down her face.

“Come on, Spike… Tom w-will take care of her, ok? Everything will be…” She sniffled. “O-Okie dokie… lokie…”

“No! You don’t understand!” Spike yelled, only to pause as he turned to see the human giving him a quick thumbs up. Although it was hard to make out in the pale moonlight, the dragon caught a glimpse under the boy’s sleeve, showing him a hint of the white bandage that was still concealing Tom’s arm wound.

“Tom!”

As the cries, shouts, and hoofbeats of his friends leaving died down, the room returned to silence as Tom stared at Celestia. She seemed to acknowledge his presence with her eyes, but little else as she stood, uncaring of the whistling wind around them.

She almost appeared to be waiting.

“Alright…” Tom said, taking his bag and setting it on the floor. He looked down to his palm, feeling the plastic and glass of a syringe full of his own blood, his only real weapon against the alicorn, before stashing it on his person and looking up to Equestria’s regal princess of the sun.

“If this is how it has to be… then let’s get this over with.”