As he plunged into the shadowy behemoth, the world faded away from Sunburst. For an instant, everything turned black. Every hair on his body stood on end as a wave of cold washed over him. He landed hard against the stone floor, rolling head over hooves.

When he finally stopped, Sunburst rose and brushed the dust from his cloak. He glanced at his surroundings. He stood upon an island of stone, floating amidst a vast empty void. Stars twinkled above and below, casting their dim light across the little ground there was.

“Starlight?” he called out, glancing back and forth across the emptiness.

His search bore fruit when he spotted an orb of magic in the distance. The blue sheen told him that Starlight was nearby.

“Hang on, Starlight,” Sunburst called out, searching for a path to his friend.

As if the void itself could hear his silent pleas, the air before him shimmered, revealing another stone platform. Straightening his glasses, he galloped forward and jumped, his speed just enough to get him across the gap.

This new island looked similar to the last. A cobblestone floor, overgrown with moss and weeds. A stone staircase led down from the platform to an endless drop. The foundation of a tower rose to his right, the ruin of a civilization he didn’t recognize.

But he didn’t have time to worry about that now.

He shook his academic fascination away, searching for another island. Again, the abyss provided a path. This time, he didn’t stop to examine it. Instead, he leapt off the edge, the ground appearing just in time to catch him. He pressed forward in a similar manner, making a beeline for the hovering orb of energy.

“You’re an annoyance, Pony.”

The room shook with an echoing voice, rattling debris from the edges of the ground.

Starburst didn’t slow down.

“I won’t let you take Starlight,” he promised. “Do you hear me, Starlight? I won’t let him take you.”

“Big promises for such a small being. Are you sure you can keep them?”

A booming laugh reverberated through the nothing.

The stars below started to flicker and die, one-by-one. Shadows pooled like a sea of ink, swelling up toward the ground. A dark tendril tore up through the depths, pointed directly at Sunburst. At the last moment, he banked to the side, flinching as the tendril punched through the ground beside him. Then another. Then another.

Half-a-dozen tendrils speared through the earth, each one a little closer than the last. The impacts caused the stone to crumble, barely allowing the haggard stallion a platform to jump from.
One final, massive platform rose from the dark sea. Crumbled furniture and torn banners marked the walls, giving it the appearance of what was once a great hall, now brought to ruin. Directly above, a few feet off the ground, hovered Starlight. Her eyes were squeezed close, her head hung low. A quiet whimper surrounded her.

“I will not allow you to take her!” the beast roared.

Dark limbs rose up on every side of the platform, rising high into the sky and coalescing into black sky.

“Starlight? Can you hear me?”

With a shocked gasp, she glanced up, tears running down her face.

“Sunburst?”

“I’m here to rescue you.”

“Where are we? What happened?”

“We don’t have time for that.”

Her magic bubble popped, dropping the mare onto the floor at his side.

“No!”

The darkness rose up, forming a vortex around them that inched closer.
“So, what’s your plan?” Starlight asked.

Sunburst chuckled nervously.

“Well, I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”

The two of them stood back-to-back as the shadows curled in, scored by a raucous laughter.
Forms like blackened snakes slithered out from the mist, grasping for their hooves. Starlight screamed as one of them wrapped around her foreleg, burning a ring into her fur.

Sunburst summoned him magic, cutting Starlight free with a burst of magic.

“What’s the plan, Sunburst?” Starlight pleaded.

“Do you trust me?”

“What?”

“Do you trust me?”

Starlight recoiled as another limb grasped at her, but she blasted it back.

“I trust you, Sunburst. What do you need me to do?”

She stumbled as Sunburst grabbed her hoof, dragging her along as he charged head-first into the dark. Starlight didn’t have time to argue as her companion erupted with golden light. With a horrified screech, the darkness reeled back. Thickened tendrils swung through the air, raining down a hail of strikes on the duo.

Starlight raised her shield, absorbing the first slam.

Sunburst countered, slicing their attacker in two with a beam of golden magic.

Together, they twirled through the dark, throwing shields and beams with the precision only a trained magister could muster. By the time they finally reached the edge, sweat dripped from Sunburst’s brow and Starlight struggled to catch her breath.

“Where do you think you’re running to, little bugs? This is my world.”

The black clouds funneled together, forming a storm as they solidified into a monolithic figure.
Starlight summoned her magic as the attack landed. With the sound of shattering glass, her resolve broke, along with her shield. The force of the strike sent them skidding back toward the edge.

“Sunburst? You do have a plan, right?” Starlight asked through gritted teeth.

“Yeah.”
The dark beast reared back for another attack. Starlight pulled herself together, readying to raise her shield for another attempt. Before she could, Sunburst grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. With a holler, he leapt from the platform. The beast’s strike landed, shattering the last remnants of the earth within the void, and narrowly missing the duo.

As they fell into the abyss, Starlight couldn’t help but shutter at the cold gale that surrounded them. And then she landed hard on solid earth. She looked up just in time to see the look of amazement on Twilight’s face.

Behind them, the beast roared and charged.

Author's Note

Written by Arkane12.