Darkness Fell.

Flash, Wallflower and Sweet Leaf made their way carefully through the lower floors of the office building, taking the same precautionary measures as Bon Bon and Trixie were many floors above them, tiptoeing whilst constantly shining their flashlights and swiveling their heads in every direction, peaking around every corner to every hallway. Flash led the way, with Sweet Leaf behind him and Wallflower bringing up the rear.

Then, coming from somewhere on the floor above them. Footsteps. The three stopped in their tracks, shining their Flashlights up towards the source of the noise.

“Do you think that’s Bon Bon and Trixie?” Wallflower asked. Flash didn’t answer, instead holding up a finger to signal to them to remain quiet while he listened intently. It didn’t take him long to realise that there were multiple sets of footsteps now, along with the occasional brief hiss of static that the corruption emitted.

“I don’t think that’s them.” He replied coldly. “Quick! Turn off your flashlights!”

One by one each of their lights cut off, and without saying another word, the group started heading towards the outer edges of the floor, where the windows facing the full moon were to make up for the sudden loss of light. Along the way, as they were moving through the last hallway which branched off into office spaces and cubicles, Flash spotted something on the wall ahead and to the left, reflecting the light shining in from the moon.

“Guys, look!’ He exclaimed, breaking into a quick jog to get to the object quicker. Sure enough, what he’d seen was a fire axe, hidden from his grasp by a panel of glass, with a sign above it that read BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, along with a large red alarm positioned above it.

He thought to himself, wondering if he should break the glass or not. On one hand, not only would he likely injure himself in trying to break the glass, but that alarm above it would almost certainly go off, meaning that if the footsteps they’d heard above them wasn’t their friends, whatever it was would immediately know where they were. On the other hand though, this could be their saving grace if push came to shove. There was a very real chance that they’d be found anyway, and in that case having a weapon, any weapon, could mean the difference between life and death.

He looked back towards his fellow survivors, seeking either their praise or scrutination for if he should do it or not.

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk.” Sweet Leaf said, her look one of discouragement.

“I think it could be.” Wallflower said. "I think if we get out of here quick enough after triggering the alarm it’ll be a great distraction for us to get out of here. Plus we’d have a weapon.”

“Hmm. . .” Sweet Leaf pondered. “That could work, but I’m still not too keen on taking that big of a risk. What about Bon Bon and Trixie? There’s no way they’d be able to get out fast enough before this place is swarming with those things.

“Wait! The powers out! Doesn’t that mean we can do this risk-free?” Wallflower exclaimed.

“There could still be a backup somewhere." Flash replied. "So right now it comes down to a coin toss: Do we break the glass and risk an alarm going off leading to the possible deaths of two of our friends. . .” He paused for a second upon hearing more footsteps above them. “. . .Or do we go without and risk not having anything to protect ourselves.”

”Do it.” A voice called out from behind them. All three survivors turned towards the source of the voice in a panic, all of them met with the sight of Lyra’s corrupted visage standing at the other end of the hallway. She was hunched over at an odd angle, corruption covering her head to toe and the surrounding floor.

“Actually, I’ve changed my mind. Don’t do it.” Lyra said. “it’ll make this easier for you.” She said matter of factly.

Finally getting over the shock that had overcome him until that point, Flash propelled his left elbow into the glass, creating an ear-piercing CRACK as the glass gave way and shattered. He reached inside and grabbed the axe, the alarm above thankfully not going off due to lack of power.

Lyra’s previously crazed smile gave way to an equally mad frown in an instant, followed by her charging down the hallway towards Flash. Wallflower and Sweet Leaf screamed, turning to run while Flash was left to fight. Lyra charged and leapt towards him with both arms outstretched. He reacted just in time, holding the axe horizontally which allowed him to use it as an Impromptu barrier against Lyra's assault. He struggled with all his might to keep the handle of the axe between them, Lyra all the while thrusting her head forwards trying to bite him.

"What the-!" He exclaimed as Lyra opened her mouth again, expecting her to try and bite him, but instead several long dark tendrils of corruption shooting out from her wide mouth. He faltered at the sight, allowing Lyra to force him down onto the ground where they continued to struggle with the handle of the axe between them. After a few more seconds of struggling, Flash felt his arms starting to give out, Lyra's tendrils extending from her mouth growing ever closer moment by moment. Just as he thought he was done for though, something hit Lyra in the side, hard, sending her flying off of him and into the wall to their left.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Wallflowers voice called down to him, followed by a hand to help him back to his feet. While he was being helped up, he noticed a small dark patch of corruption on Wallflowers leg where she'd kicked Lyra off of him.

Before they could get very far, Lyra was on top of them again, preparing to strike. Reacting purely out of instinct, Flash turned and whirled the axe behind them with as much force as he could manage. It managed to hit it's mark in Lyra's side just before she would have gotten to them, the force of the impact throwing her against the wall, disoriented and then proceeding to collapse to the ground. He took the opportunity to catch up with Wallflower and Sweet Leaf, all three of them now booking it for the stairwell. He made it to the door just as Lyra’s footsteps could be heard coming from the other end of the hallway leading to it. He threw the door shut and locked it just as Lyra careened into it, leaving a very large bulge in the doorframe, followed by a cry of rage from his former classmate.

He made it back to the bottom floor just as Wallflower and Sweet Leaf were making their ways through the windows leading to the outside. He quickly followed suit, axe in hand as the group of three once again made their way out into the remnants of Canterlot City. Before they got too far, he looked back at the towering office building that he knew they had just left Bon Bon and Trixie in, tears starting to form at the edges of his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” He said before turning back and running down the sidewalk.