Transference: Epitome of Darkness

Hitch was the first to come to his senses.

Back to reality from what must have been a dark dream, a nightmare, or so he was hoping, denying the loose memories that were trying to form in his scrambled mind. He shook his head, one hoof up trying to massage his headache away, vision slowly becoming clearer.

Sitting up slowly, he looked around, eyes squinted.

The last thing he remembered was a bright flash of light that had lit up the night for a brief moment, golden and warm. It had come from Sunny, who was lying not far away on the ground, unconscious, it seemed.

Her body was still emitting a faint light, pulsating in rhythm with her every breath. Izzy lying back to back, her own horn reacting to the light as well.

Even the rainbow trail shooting up from the Unity Crystal seemed to have become more intense in colors.

"Sunny!" Trying to walk to her, Hitch stumbled, falling over with his chin forward. The fall dampened by what felt like a fluffy cloud. Lifting his body up with two forelegs, he realized what was lying in the damp grass. "Pipp?!"

She was injured and unresponsive, her exposed backside riddled with bloody streaks, and... no. The memories in Hitch's head became very vivid for a moment, triggered by the sight. He gasped, backing away from her, feeling his member twitch for a second, realizing it had been put to use moments ago.

But those weren't his memories. They couldn't be. He'd never do something like that.

Nopony would.

Hitch's breathing became faster. He sat back down, looking at his friends before him, holding up both of his forelegs to the sides of his head, mumbling and shacking, unsure of what to do next.

"I-It's not y-your fault," it came stuttering, barely audible to his right side. Misty was slowly putting herself up, her coat making her hard to spot in the dimly lit dark, tears flowing down her cheeks. "This... thing it--"

Hitch didn't let her finish, charged forward and grabbed her tight by the shoulders. "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" He shook her violently. "You know, don't you?!"

Intimated, Misty cried, trying to form an answer. "Please stop!" Misty wanted to back away, but Hitch didn't let her. "S-Somepony is in Opaline!" she said, cowering down in fear, forelegs on top of her head. "Please, let go of me!"

Hitch let go of her, trying to take a hold of himself. "Opal--" he started repeating but turned around when he heard somepony approaching from behind. "Zi--"

Zipp tackled him, head down first into the side of his barrel, making him gasp for air, followed by a forehoof to his exposed chin. He fell down to the ground out cold, blood running down his nose.

"NO!" Misty screamed, shocked by the sudden attack, stumbling backwards on her hind. "It's not his fault, stop!" she followed up, trying to shield Hitch's head from further attacks with her body as she looked up at Zipp.

Izzy woke up groaning. Feeling the warmth on her back, she turned around. "Sunny?!" she said, trying to wake her up. "Sunny?!"

Zipp eyed Misty briefly but paid no further mind and cowered down to her sister instead. "Pipp! Pipp!" she said repeatedly, lifting the upper body of her sister up and hugging her tight. "Pipp..." she now whispered, clenching her teeth as she saw the bruises and marks on her sister's body, looking back at Hitch with nothing but murderous intent.

Despite seeing it all happen, knowing that he couldn't have been in control, she just wasn't able to subdue her emotions. Her hate. Her anger. At him... herself.

She had failed her sister.

Pipp's eyes slowly opened, earning Zipp's full attention again. Pipp flinched, trying to break free before realizing who was holding her. "Z-Zipp!" she said, eyes growing wide, immediately starting to cry. "It hurts." She dug her head deep into Zipp's fluff, returning the hug, flinching again as she felt the still bleeding stumbles on Zipp's back. "Your wings!"

Zipp didn't say a word, trying to be the strong sister she held back her own tears, holding Pipp even tighter.

"Sunny wake up, please!" Izzy cried, looking at the others as if to ask for help. "She's not waking up!"

Misty watched them from the side, holding Hitch's head in her hoofs on the ground. "You must go while you still can." Misty said quietly as she looked up to the sky. "Go to the Crystal Brighthouse; they can't go there. I'll buy as much time as I can."

The sky was clear, no familiars to be seen anywhere, like they had never been there. What had happened? Misty looked over to the lying earth pony, who was emitting a golden light in a steady rhythm, almost like a beacon of sorts.

That light, that flash... it had shielded them somehow. She could still feel the warmth even now. It--

"Who are you?" Zipp asked, starting to tend to her sister's wounds as good as she could, eyes like daggers as she looked at Misty. "What is your play in this?" Zipp looked between her and Hitch with nothing but disgust. "Are you with them, with that... alicorn?"

Hitch started moving again, trying to stand up, but Misty didn't let him. She held him tighter as she tried to form an answer.

"Listen, please, I don't know what is happening exactly, but something, that thing, is in Opaline; it has taken control of her!" Misty sniffled. "And him, it's not his fault!" she added after a pause as she was looking down at a dazzled Hitch. "Opaline would never do this... any of this."

Zipp didn't answer but shot up in alarm as she noticed something in the distance behind Misty, phantom pain reminding her of her lost wings as she tried to spread them to shield her sister in response.

Something was flying straight towards them.

A being made of fire lit the sky around it.

It wasn't alone.

I saw the phoenix land in the distance as I was making my way to them.

And then another. And another. It looked like a bonfire from here.

Could it be? A thousand things ran through my mind.

It felt as if magic poured slower into the world than it had before.

The rainbow trail flickered.

No, it was being redirected. Something else was consuming it.

I shouldn't have waited. I shouldn't have played.

Panic overcame me, or was it fear?

I had to kill them.

Fast.