National Equestrian Whispering Day was broken by an ear-piercing scream. Many ponies grumbled in disappointment, and some looked concerned until they realized it was coming from the Carousel Boutique. Rarity had just gotten yet another offer of a lifetime.
"Do you know what this means?" She gasped at her sister Sweetie Belle.
"I don't even know what this is," she responed rather bluntly.
"I," she began dramatically, "have just been asked to write an article about my work for the National Equestrian Inquiry! Now not only will fashionistas like me will be gazing upon my excellence, but nearly everyone in Equestria will be! I must get to work right away!" She raced up to her study, all the while itching not to lose her composure. Sweetie Belle just rolled her eyes, and continued what she was doing.
A few hours later, she burst through the door almost giddy with excitement. Sweetie belle fell over in alarm, a priceless look on her face.
"What do you think?" Rarity spat at her, slamming the paper down in front of her.
As Sweetie Belle read through the article, a frustrated look formed on her face.
"What?" Rarity asked quizzically, "is there something wrong with it?"
"It's not wrong, it's just not right." She responeded unsurely.
"What's wrong with it?"
" I don't know, it's just not right. Maybe Twilight will know."
"Fine! I'll just ask her then." Rarity ended, troting out furiously. She slammed the door behind her.
"I'm just sayin'..." Sweetie responded to nothing.
"Ooooooh Mrs. Sparkle!" Rarity called in as she walked into the library. "I have news!"
Despite that the intrusion was not as abrubt, Twilight was so concentrated in her studies that she too fell over.
"What? You scared me half to death!" She replied.
"I," she began again, "have just been asked to write an article for the National Equestrian Inquiry!"
"Oh, that's great, Rari..."
"However," Rarity cut her off, "I need your help. Sweetie Belle thinks my article needs work, but she doesn't know how. I don't see what's wrong. Surely, you must know something about writing! Use some of your book smarts or something!"
"You know, I don't need a book for everything! Writing isn't that difficult! Let me read through what you have and give you some tips."
Twilight began reading, curiosity present in her eyes.
"Mmm hmm." She acknowledged.
"For starters, you need to cut down on some excessive words. You seem to use 'fabulous' a lot, for instance. Also, you need your writing to flow. This article is rather jumpy."
"What do you mean by jumpy?" Rarity questioned, hopping in place from the excitement she still had.
"Well you don't talk about one thing for very long. Sometimes you even drop one subject, and come back to it again later.
"Well, it's all about fashion, isn't it?"
"Yes, but you still have to relate everything." Twilight brought out some ink and paper. She sketched some flowers, a tree, and a book.
"All these things are related. They're all plants, or used to be. That doesn't mean that they all go together, though."
Rarity still looked confused. "Well, how do I fix it?"
"Group the super-related-things together first."
"Right." Rarity responded as she tore up various segments and re-arranged them in a new order. Twilight's jaw dropped slightly.
"Why did you do that?"
"Oh, um..." Rarity paused, pondering her brash desicion. "Well, at least it's in order!" She stated with a grin.
Twilight sighed. This might be harder than she thought.
The clock struck six times, indicating it was six-o-clock. Twilight flopped her head down on her desk, and exhaled in frustration. Rarity, on the other hoof, was giddy with joy. She was finally done.
"Oh thank you so much, Twilight! You don't know how much this means to me!"
"Just make sure to give me my share of credit" She replied, her head still on her desk.
When Rarity walked into her house, a strange pony was waiting for her.
"Rarity! We've been waiting on you!"
"Who is this pony?" Rarity demanded.
"My name is Ink Inquiry, and I'm here for your interview. Didn't you get the letter?" He asked politely.
Rarity stood slack-jawed, and in complete disbelief at what she had just heard. She and Twilight had done all that work, and it goes out the door. She decided now would be a good time to faint, and fell over backward.
Lightning struck everywhere. Light was always flashing, and it was blinding. Thunder was always heard, and it was deafening. At their elevation, the air was cold and rain made it damp. They could barely stand up to the howling wind. Undead clawed at the doors, desperate to protect what gave them life. When they looked back, this would not be an adventure. But it was almost over.
"Hurry up!" Rainbow Dash called out in panic. She was losing the fight to hold the door in place. Small streams of blood stained her coat.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Twilight responded angrily, her voice hurting from the yelling. She gritted her teeth as she tried to fit the last few pieces of the puzzle into place. The turn of the stone rings was almost mesmerizing.
"Um, I don't mean to make a panic, but, uh, our protection is starting to wear out." Fluttershy added. The Glowing diamond fastened around her neck was begining to dim.
"Horse Feathers!" Twilight shouted as she threw the rune vexing her at the stone carving. A large chunk of stone fell out of the ceiling, and she sighed in relief. Impossibly, it was exactly what she needed. She fit the newly found piece into place, and the wall began to retract. Just in time. Rainbow Dash fell forward as the undead made it through the flimsy wooden door. She scrambled to her feet and to safety, heart beating strongly from the near death experience.
In the next room would be an ancient relic, imbued with dark magic by a bitter unicorn long ago. It granted the undead what little life they had. A strange stallion told her it needed to be destroyed, that the undead were going to become a problem: That darkness was upon them. It seemed easy, so similar to the adventures they'd had before. The Earth ponies had been busy, so the four went in on their own, confident in their abilites.
"Everypony through!" She ordered, and braced herself. The familiar purple aura surrounded her horn, and a bright light began to shine. Abruptly, it flashed to a blinding intensity and faded. The pursuing horde stopped in burning pain, and Twilight ran through the door as it began to close.
"Fluttershy, how is the artifact?" She demanded, but the answer was already clear. The darkness surrounding the temple was growing strong. She felt faint as its power attacked her. Doubtless everyone else felt the same.
"I don't think it's going to last any longer." She replied.
Twilight made her way to the black crystal in the middle of the room. It was suspended in a bright-blue light, and pulsed upward periodically. She felt a burst of energy every time. The pressure on her leg spiked as she reached toward the crystal. Her heart beat so rapidly she couldn't hear anymore.
"Almost... GOT... IT," She yelled. The pressure dropped as she grabbed it and it forced her off her balance. Rainbow Dash was on top of the crystal as it landed, smashing it with her forearm, angry determination on her face. Outside, the sound of clattering bones stopped. It was over.
Or, it should have been. Instead of going away, the darkness she felt rapidly overtook her. She could not stand.
"NO!" She screamed as she struggled against the unknown force. "That should have stopped it! That should have worked!" In her slowly fading vision, she saw Rarity collapse as well, and Fluttershy rush over to her.
"TWILIGHT," Rainbow Dash called out in the distance. She had been wrong, and now this evil would claim countless lives because of it. She knew not how she would stop it any more. She could not believe it. She had been lied to. She had been wrong, and they had failed.
"TWIIIILLLIIIIIIIIIGHT!!! WAKE UP!" Dash continued, her voice growing farther. Twilight heard a deep laugh as she saw a silhouette walk through Dash toward her, and lost consciousness.
