Pumpkin's Struggle (Part 4): The Darkest Hour

(WARNING: Pure, emotional sadness ahead!!!)

‘GASP!’

Pumpkin suddenly got a sudden shock in her head as she perked her head off of her brother’s lap and was looking around feeling terrified.

“What’s the matter, Pumpkin?” Pound questioned, “Did… something happen?”

“Y… y-y-yes, something did happen; something terrible. Two very strong beings has fallen to that demon. I think… I-I-I think it’s… Celestia and Luna!”

“What?!” Pound shouted in worry, “Are you sure?! How can that be possible?! Celestia and Luna are stronger than anypony we know; they can’t be beat!”

But Pumpkin shook her head looking at her brother feeling devastated, “I don’t think it’s a trick; they’re really gone. I can’t believe this.”

“Took the words out of my mouth, Sis; if they couldn’t stop it, then who can?!”

Pound wasn’t quite sure what to do now that the Princess of the sun and moon were defeated. Their end were now certain. But suddenly sensing something that Pound couldn’t, Pumpkin suddenly used her strength to push her brother away from their resting spot as she yelled…

“LOOK OUT, BORTHER!”

Pound was taken by surprise by his sister’s action, but then realized the huge explosion behind them that landed right where they were sitting before. After gathering his breath, he looked at sister who was almost unconscious on top of him.

“Sis; sis, are you alright?!”

“I-I-I’m alright, but… I-I’m afraid that we’re not alone anymore.”

“Right you are, little Pumpkin," said a menacing voice, "You’re so observant.”

To the Twins' horror, approaching them from the side was the devastating demon spirit; grinning and chuckling under it's breath as it saw the sad and emotional state that they were in.

“Damnit," Pound groaned, "how did you find us so fast?!”

“Are you serious?" said the spirit sarcastically, "I’m still technically a part of your sister’s soul; I sense her energy wherever she goes. So no matter where she goes, she can’t hide from me; nor can anypony near her.”

Pumpkin glared a little at the spirit but then broke down in a coughing fit in front of her brother  making him worry.

“Oh dear, you don’t look so good," said the spirit, "but pretty soon, neither will your brother.”

Pound  got up in front of his sister with his wings spread out and glaring the demon down, “Come again, souless freak?”

“Oh my goodness; did you just call your sister a freak? How cruel.”

“Stop comparing my sister to you, foul demon! She wouldn’t go around causing destruction and killing ponies willy-nilly! So what if she’s your recent host; she’s nothing like you!”

As always, the spirit remained unmoved and unaffected by Pounds remarks, “Either way, I’ve captured all of your family and friends, and Celestia and her Sister are now such wonderful garden decorations.”

“No.”

“And now I’m going back to my original agenda; making Pumpkin miserable.”

“Make her shed... one more tear," said Pound angrilly brushing his hoof against the ground, "and I’ll destroy you.”

“Pretty strong threat from a young colt, but it won’t help you seeing that your precious rulers couldn’t even stop me. But go ahead, taking you out is next on my to do list anyway.”

Suddenly, Pound found himself being lifted in the air and away from the Spirit. Once he was on solid ground again, he saw that in front of him his sister, Pumpkin was steadly on her hooves breathing heavily while aiming to try and tae down the demon.

“What the… Pumpkin?”

“Still have the strength to stand on all fours I see," the spirit sighed, "That’s pretty impressive if not pathetic.”

“Pumpkin, what are you doing?" Pound shouted, "I got this; you can’t take that demon on.”

“I… d-d-don’t care," Pumpkin studdered, "I’m not going to let you… o-or anypony else… fight my battles. This demon is my responsabilty and I will fight it; not you, not Pinkie, not Acer and not anypony! As long as I can… s-s-still stand… and cast mag-g-gic… I won’t r-r-run away anymore.”

The spirit was chuckling again feeling amused of Pumpkin's brave stand, “How cute, you’re still trying to protect those you love so much from me. But in your state, I’m afraid that’s impossible. You’ll give out before you cast a single spell at me.”

Pumpkin glared at the spirit while suddenly emmiting some magic in her horn, “Don’t count me out just yet. Unless you get pass me, y-you’re not landing a single h-hoof on my brother.”

“What about yourself, Sis?!” said Pound.

The spirit realized that Pumpkin wasn't going to stand down and decide to go along with it, “You’re being so persistent. Fine, I’ll play with you a little; in fact you can attack me first, without any interference.”

Pumpkin made no hesitations as she suddenly made a quick shot at the demon, but it completely missed. It didn't  matter to her though; she immediately followed it up with a barrge of lightning strikes. For that one, the spirit acyually decided to move around and dodge Pumpkin's strikes. Pound was just sitting on the ground feeling quite surprised of how much power his sister had left in her even in her current state.

As the spirit kept dodging Pumpkin's attacks, the tired filly waas getting frustrated. She suddenly snuck in a little sneaky move that caught the spirit off-guard. It was swept up off of it's feet as it was suddenly trapped in a containment bubble and couldn't escape; Pound couldn't believe that Pumpkin actually got it.

"I got you now," Pumpkin shouted.

She then gathered as much magic energy that she could in her horn and then unleashed it all at the spirit. A huge explosion ignited around the demon and both twins felt assured that maybe that it was really gone.

"You go, Pumpkin," shouted Pound, "you got it!"

But as the Pumpkin was catching her breath, the smoke settled and much to both of their beliefs, the demon was still alive.

“Seriously, that’s all you got?” said the demon as it shook itself off.

Pound couldn't believe that what his siter did had no effect, "This... can't be."

And Pumpkin felt the same way looking at the spirit feeling out of breath and completley out of energy; she didn't like her odds.

“Then if that’s the case…" said the spirit as it stored up magic in its horn and staring at Pumpkin with excitement  in its eyes, "it’s now my turn.”

Back in the chasm inside the Town Hall of Ponyvile, the the captured residents were doing everything they could to escape the demon's prison. Twilight and many other unicorns who could do it were using as much magic as they could to break the barrier, but nothing worked. Rainbow Dash even tried to gain enough momentum in the tight space that she had and sonic rainboomed at the barrier; but as a result, it failed, and she got nothing but a slight migrain.

Nothing any of them did proved to work at all But pretty soon, they were all joined by the demon's latest prey, the former C.M.C. Applejack and Rarity were overjoyed to see their little sisters in one piece, but once Scooaloo appeared in her injured state, some of hem came to help patch her up. During that time, they told everyone there about what they witnessed, and they couldn't believe what they heard.

“What; not Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” shouted Twilight.

“We saw it with our own eyes," stated Apple Bloom, "Celestia and Luna attacked it with all of their power, but it absorbed it and ricocheted it back at them; and now they’re nothin' but a couple of stone statues!”

“Well, that’s it," said Spike freaking out, "it’s over. If they couldn’t stop it, what hope could anypony else do?!”

“I can’t believe this," said the Mayor, "is it really all over?”

Pinkie didn't really liked the negativness that surrounded her and felt like tying to make a  funny joke. “I guess it wouldn’t be fitting to throw an ‘Everypony is Doomed’ party, right?”

But no one ound it to be funny as she expected. But amidst the everyone being depressed and having no hope left, one suddenly spoke up.

“I’m still not giving up.”

Mr. and Mrs. Cake turned around and stepped aside as Acer walked forward for everyone there to see him.

“Acer?” said Pinkie.

“I know that everything looks hopeless now, but I’m still not giving up on Pumpkin. I told her myself that no matter how tough things got or how much danger we end up getting into, I promised her that I would do everything in my power to always be there for her, and I know that you all made the same commitment; especially her biological family. But we won’t be keeping our promise staying down here and accepting defeat. Until that demon stabs me through my heart, I’m going to keep fighting for her.”

Most of them were still scared and depressed, but what Acer said made them realize the truth. They all realized that it would be better to keep fighting then to give up at all.

“Everypony… Acer is right," said Twilight, "How could we forgive ourselves if we simpl just gave up? As long as we are still here, we have to keep fighting for us; for Pumpkin.”

“I think we all agree, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash, "but we’re still stuck in here. How the hell are we going to get through that barrier?!”

“Perhaps I could be of some assistance," said a familiar voice above them.

They all looked up and saw two figures standing over them.

“Wait," said Mrs. Cake trying to focus her eyes, "is that…”

“No… way," said Cheerliee, "Envy Rose?!”

It was Envy Rose... alive, and she was accompanied by her daughter, Ruby Rose who was very relived to see everyone still alive. Everyone else for that matter were just shocked of seeing Envy alive after hearing the confirmation of her death.

“What are you doing here?!" questioned Acer, "Aren’t you suppose to be dead?!”

“Yes, I was supposed to be dead," said Envy with a slight smile, "but thankfully my daughter here chose to disobey my words to run away and stayed with me. She showed great courage and loyalty. Its only because of her not giving up on me that I’m still alive.”

“Hey, everypony!” said Ruby as she waved.

“Hey, Ruby!” shouted Pinkie happily.

Everyone was glad that Envy and Ruby were alright, but time was running out and they knew they needed to escape as soon as possible.

“So what’s the plan, Envy?" said Twilight, "We tried everything to destroy this barrier, but it dosen’t want to come down.”

“Yes, this is a simple spell that I’ve seen before," Envy responded, "It’s a special barrier in which it could never be destroyed from either side.”

“Well that sucks," scoffed Rainbow Dash as she rubbed her head, "I sure wish that I knew that sooner."

“But… if we combine my magic and my daughter’s from this side, and all of your magic from the other side, there is a chance that we’ll cause a disruption in the barrier and make it fall.”

“Think it will work?” Fluttershy asked Twilight.

“Well, I don’t think we have any other choice. If this dosen’t work, nothing will.”

“You all heard her, fellow unicorns," shouted Rarity, "it time to take down this barrier and go help Pumpkin!”

“Hey, Spike," said Twilight, "you might wanna…”

Spike suddenly smiled and was walking away from her saying, “One step ahead of you, Twilight.”

Ruby and her Mother got in position and were about to ignite their magic.

“Are you up for this, Mother?” Ruby asked.

Stumbling a bit, Envy smirked and looked at her and said, “I-I’ll be fine, Ruby; just make sure you give your share too.”

All of the unicorns in the chasm were in position as well and were waiting for Twilight's command, “Alright, everypony, um… unicorns, give that barrier everything you’ve got… NOW!!!”

On cue, all of the unnicorns fired their strongest spell constantly against the barrier and Ruby and Envy did the same from their side as well. Both parties were pressing on as hard as they could, until they saw the sheild starting to crack.

“It’s working," shouted Twilight, "keep going!”

Pinkie was jumping up and down cheering them on, “Go unicorns! Go unicorns! Go unicorns!”

“A-a-almost… got… i-it,” said Ruby as she was pressing on with her Mother.

The sight of the magic auras was intense and electrifying, and the other ponies were standing back as faraway as they could to keep themselves from being caught up in it.  But before long, the sheild finally gave way and was completly shattered by the two opposing forces against it.

“They did it; they actually did it!” cheered Pinkie.

“Unbelievable,” said Mr. Cake in awe.

Ruby fell on her flank and was catching her breath from the hard work she just did. “Well… that… was exhausting.”

Her Mother went beside her and placed her hoof on her shoulder smiling at her and said, “You did well, Ruby; I’m proud of you.”

Ruby smiled back and then gave her a hug while still having tears in her eyes.

Rainbow Dash shot out of the chasm feeling happy and free, “Aw yeah, I can finally stretch my wings again! That spirit is going to pay for placing me in such a tight space!”

“Alright," said Twilight, "all Pegasi please help everypony else get out of this chasm.”

They all complied; every Pegasi there carried as many other pony as they could to the top back on normal ground, and some Unicorns like Twilight actually transported themselves out of the chasm to save some trouble. In no time at all, all residents were finally free and out of the chasm.

“That’s everyone," said Twilight looking around, "I think we’re good to go.”

“Alright, lets find Pumpkin and give her our support!” commanded the Mayor.

Everyone was fired up and shouted, “Yeah!!!”

“But there’s one problem," said Mrs. Cake, "how do we find her?”

Suddenly, Pinkie began to feel a certain sensation in her body that caused her to vibrate all over, “Ooh ooh, my Pinkie sense is acting up!”

“Pinkie sense?” said Envy awkwardly.

Ruby giggled a bit and told her, “It’s a Pinkie Pie thing, Mom.”

“I… see.”

Pinkie's sense was suddenly pointing her in a certian direction, “I… I-I-I sense P-P-P-Pumpkin… that way!”

“Are you sure it’s our daughter?” said Mrs. Cake.

“I bet my life on it; I mean what else do I have to lose?!”

This was it; they were all going to rush to what could be their final moment in life, but they all planned to use it to protect each other and fight for their freedom.

“Anyone who wishes to fight for our survival and Pumpkin, follow Pinkie!" shouted Acer, "One way or another, this bussiness ends today!"

Poor Pumpkin did her best to try and her own against the attacks of the dreadded demon, but it was just too much for her to handle. She kept geeting bruised with every strike she received. Though none proved fatal, it definately put her through a lot of constant pain. This kept on going until Pumpkin wasn't able to move anymore. Groaning in pain and covvered in bloddy bruises, she could do no more; but that didn't stop her from continuing to try.

“Pumpkin, stop; just stop!" Pound pleaded to her, "You can’t go on anymore!”

Pumpkin was still trying to get back up on her hooves, “I-I-I-I’m… n-n-not giving up… y-yet. I’m gonna…” But then her body gave out and she fell back down on the ground.

“And thus… she falls," said the demon with a devilish grin, "heh, its about time you've realized when to quit."

As it walked away from Pumpkin, the demon spirit used its magic to lift up Pound and supress him against a tree where he couldn't  move. But Pound decided not to struggle; he was tired of running away.

“Now… back to you. Its time to put my plan into action.”

Pound slightly glared at the demon with anger in his eyes and questioned, “Just what is your plan exactly? It can’t be any worse than what you did all those years ago.”

The spirit came right up to his face and smile; enjoying the inner rage in his heart, “Oh, but it is; its more worse than you can imagine. Sure, it would’ve been much eaiser if I had just slaughtered every single pony I run into and then bathe happily in ther warm blood. But this time, I had another way that’s much more… satisfying.” Then it gave Pound a little sensual lick on his cheek.

Seeing that it was sorta in the form of his sister, he responded, “Ew.” Not to mention that it felt really slimy.

“G-get yourself a-away from my b-b-brother," Pumpkin protested.

“But your brother is part of my plan. You see… back when I possessed the body of Blackberry the third, in the end I was able to fully control him and kill as many ponies as I could. But once I had his sights set on his loved ones, his strong bond with them allowed him to push me back and gain control of his body long enough for somepony to take him down and me along with him! But my host this time… has a twin, and we all know that twins have special connections to each other and can hardly stand to be without the other for too long.”

“Yeah yeah, we know all that," said Pound, "So what point are you trying to prove?!”

“The point is that I know all of her weaknesses, and I know what makes her break down and suffer. If I kill you right here in front of her while she’s completely defenseless, she’ll go so deep into her depression that she won’t be able to control her emotions.”

This was a moment that Pumpkin dreadded, “Oh no.”

“Oh yes; and once that happens, I’ll be able to take over her body again completely but without interference because my host will be too busy being depressed and overly emotional! Then, she’ll have no choice but to sit back in the sub-concious of her mind while she watches me slaughter every single Poyville citizen one by one right in front of her; and there will be nothing she can do to stop it! Finally, the echoing, blood curdling screams of many unfortunate souls will will make me whole once again!”

Pound showed a little smile on his face and chuckled a bit while shaking his head, “Man, and here I thought you were messed up before; but now you just sat yourself on a whole new level of twisted insanity.”

The demon increased her pressure against Pound's body and chuckled herself, “I’ll just take that as a compliment. Ready to make your sister scream in agony; heh, or is the same both ways?”

Pumpkin tried to get up again, “I won’t let you… ahhhh!” However, she stumbled back down again.

“Look how pitiful you look," said the demon spirit leering at the wounded filly, "But don’t worry, once I possess your body once again, I’ll be your hooves and legs for the rest of your life.”

With him trapped, his sister grounded and no one else around, Pound knew that he was about to meet unfortunate  end. But was it wrong for him to think that he saw it coming anyway? He looked over at his sister who was staring in his direction with saddening tears in her eyes not wishing to see what was about to happen. But all Pound did was smile to let her know that he didn't mind anymore; he accepted his death.

“Pumpkin," he said towards her, "it's okay, you don't have to cry for me; we all saw this coming anyway. Just... stay strong, and no matter what happens… don’t break down. Don’t let that demon posess you again. I don’t care what happens to me, just promise me that you won’t do it!”

The demon suddenly became bored, “Well, I think I’ve heard enough." Just then it took some large steps back and then summoned a magical induced spear on it's horn and aimed it at Pound, "Watch closely, Pumpkin; I’m going to kill your brother real good for you, okay?”

Pumpkin was at the edge of her seat; dispite what her brother said, she couldn't keep herself together. She wanted to stop this and save her brother... but how?

“Hope you’re ready, sweetie.”

Pound bravely smirked at the spirit and said, “Do your worst.”

The spirit smirked itself and began to brush its hoof against the ground ready to charge. Pound closed his eyes and braced himself for the strike that would take him away; though he only wished that he could see his parents and friends one more time.

“I’m sorry, Pumpkin, everypony; I guess… this is good bye.”

The spirit  then took off aiming its spear right at Pound's heart and was vibrating with excitement as it got closer and closer. But then at the last moment, a huge light shinned brightly in between the demon and Pound. Neither one had any idea of what it was, but to the spirit it just kept on going foward, until... the spirit finally felt its mark.

Once Pound opened his eyes, he was on the gorund and no longer enveloped in magic. He shook his head trying to get himself together and figuring out what happened. He noticed a couple drops of blood on his hooves and body, but he knew that he wasn't dead. But he suddenly looked up and saw the source of the blood that laid on him. Standing right in front of him on hind legs was... his sister.

Pound's eyes widened in horror realizing of what just happened. His sister must have used whatever magic she had left to transport herself in front of him to shield him from the demon's spear... that was now piercing through her body and releasing her blood.

“No… n-no, Pumpkin!”

Pumpkin was staying strong feeling the searing pain from the object impaling her flesh, but she knew what did and she did not regret it one bit. The spirit saw the outcome itself and found it to amusing but irritating at the same time.

“Oh wow; isn’t this an interesting turn of events.”

The spirit realeased its spear from Pumpkin's body, and the gasping filly fell down on her back. Pound cried out for his sister as he quickly went over to her and held her in his hooves as she was gasping for breath.

“Pumpkin… why; why did you do it. I didn’t ask you to save me; I didn’t ask you to sacrifice yourself for me!”

Pumpkin coughed up some blood and smiled weakly at her brother feeling glad that her little tactic worked, “I-I-I didn’t… h-have time to… decide; I just… did it… right on the spot. I-I-I guess… I just didn’t wish to s-see you… d-die… right in fornt of me; as well as… everyp-p-pony else. I couldn’t stand the thought of g-going through w-w-with that; I j-j-just couldn’t.”

“And what about me," Pound protested, "you didn’t think of how I would feel to see you die?! What is Mom, Dad and Pinkie going to say?! What is… Acer going to say?”

Pumpkin knew of how her brother would feel if she died for him instead of the other way around, but she didn't think it would make any difference; she just didnt want to go through any more pain.

“I-I’m… sorry, b-b-brother," she said feeling her life fading, "I… just wished… that this would… a-a-all be over; but…”

Then fnally, she fell limp in Pound's hooves. Pound's eyes began to fill up to the brim seeing his sister now dead... just like Blackberry the 3rd was in his time.  With his twin sibling gone, his heart felt heavy and his will to go on was now gone.

“How dare she," the demon growled, "she ruined my fun. To hell with her!”

The demon then used its magic to knock Pumpkin's body away from Pound as it tumbled across the ground and halting to a stop on her side. Pound freaked out and cried as he ran towards her.

“Pumpkin!!!”

But before he could, he was placed back against the tree by the spirit's magic and was held at spear point. It looked at his depressed face and slightly chuckled while getting ready to kill him... as it meant to before.

“But who cares; even without her I can still be satisfied with my slaughtering. With her gone, I'm finally free from her being; and now it will be certain that nopony will hinder me no longer.”

Suddenly out of nowhere, both Pound and the demon heard a voice shout out in anger, “Put… him… down!!!”

Without warning, Pinkie charged out of the cluster of trees at full speed and rammed the spirit head-on, causing it to fly back through a couple of trees. She shook her head to get herself bac together and shouted, “Whoa, that stung!" She then went over to Pound and hugged him really hard, "Pound, are you alright!”

Pound pushed himself from Pinkie and solemnly said, “I’m fine, Pinkie; I’m… just fine.”

It seemed to Pinkie that Pound was acting rather down suddenly, but who wouldn't be at this moment. “Well lucky for me I got here or that nasty spirit would have completely skewered you!”

But then having the short attention span that she has, she looked around while have a suspicion, “Wait a minute, somepony is missing here; its on the tip of my tail.”

While she thought of that, Pound suddenly saw many other residents arriving on the scene including Pinkie's friends, and his parents.

“Mom… Dad…”

Many others like the Mayor, Cheerliee and Minty came too and were all on the look out for the spirit to appear from anywhere

“Good to see you, son,” said Mr. Cake with a smile.

Mrs. Cake threw herself around him crying tears of joy, “I was very worried!”

But Pound knew that their tears of joy would soon turn into tears of sadness once they found out what happened.

“So Pound, where’s your sister?!” Mrs. Cake asked her son pleadedly.

“Oh, that’s it," said Pinkie suddenly, realizing what she forgot, "where’s Pumpkin?! Is she alright?!”

Pound looked at them with depressed eyes and then slowly shook his head while pointing his hoof in a certian direction. Everyone looked over and saw a single body in the distance laying on the ground covered in blood. But who they saw it was shocked them all.

Meanwhile, Acer just got there helping Ruby carry her mother. He suddenly rushed out to the clearing and shouted, “I’m here; where’s… Pump… kin?”

He noticed a lot of the ponies wearing depressed faces, and he saw Mrs. Cake crying in her husband's arms; as well as Minty giving Pound a hug while crying herself. He was wondering why their was such a depressed atmosphere around him; but that was untill he ran over to the motionless body that he suddenly spotted nearby. Now his eyes suddenly began tearing seeing who it was... he knew that it was too late.

“No… it can’t… be?”

Pinkie's mane drooped down feeling devastated for their loss, and her friends all surrounded her with comfort.

“That horrid demon," said Pound depressedly, "it was... going to murder me right in front of her to make her lose her mind, to make h-h-her lose control of her emotions. Then after that, it was going to posess her again and let her watch as it killed all of you in front of her eyes.”

“Oh god,” said Cheerliee tearing up more than she was.

“S-s-she couldn’t bare the thought of going through more torture like that; so… instead of dealing with that, she teleported herself in front of the demon’s path at the last minute and took the blow for me. It’s only because of her that I’m still alive, but... her blood on my coat is killing me inside.”

Pound's parents came to him in his time of need and they were all comforting each other. As for Acer, he just stood there over Pumpkin crying uncontrollably, feeling like he failed her and broke his promise to protect her. He couldn't believe she was gone.

“I’m sorry, Pumpkin; I… I’m sorry that I… couldn’t protect you.”

Minty came up behind him and placed her hoof on his shoulder; doing her best to show her support, “Girl fought hard until the end. You don't have to blame yourself.”

Ruby and her Mother, Envy saw what was going on, and Ruby became devastated herself, “I can’t believe that… she’s dead.”

Envy however, wasn't overly depressed like everyone else, but more like she felt sorry for the town and she feels their mourning for the one they lost, “This is just like the Fillypelphia incident, only worse.”

Ruby looked over at her Mother and asked, “How can Pumpkin’s death be worse than the other incident?”

“Because… despite her unfortunate but noble sacrifice… I’m afraid that it will all be in vain.”

Suddenly, everyone there jumped in shock as the ground shook and a huge energy surge emitted nearby. They all looked in the direction that it came from and saw the still fully intact demon walking out from its landing point from earlier; wearing crimson red eyes and its' horn fully glowing.

“All of you… all of you… escaped?! And as for the one who head-butted me; that actually bruised me a little. Too bad for you that it was only because you caught me off guard. Oh well, at least you all saved me the trip back.”

It then looked in the direction of Ruby Rose and saw someone that it though it finished, “And you… I thought I impaled through your old, crippled heart?”

“I’m not that old, wretched demon," said Envy feeling slightly irritated, "And besides, I believe you leaving my daughter with me was a big mistake on your part. She never gave up on me and was able to save my soul. You completely underestimated her… as have I.”

“Well played, old hag; well played… intentional or not. But I’m afraid that doesn’t change the current situation.”

The spirit could feel the many emotions of all the ponies around it, including some anger and hatred that was aimed towards it. It smiled grimly feeling overwhelmed of the ecstatic feeling many negative emotions that was making it feel stronger.

“Aw, what’s the matter, you poor, pathetic simpletons; mourning over poor little Pumpkin are we? I say good riddance; she did this to herself. She was a huge hindrance to me and a total annoyance to me ayway. Besides, did she honestly think that she would change things by getting herself killed? How pathetic she was, just like Blackberry. Her existence besides bringing me back meant little to none.”

“Shut up," said Acer suddenly as he faced the spirit showing no signs of fear towards it, "How dare you say that about that about Pumpkin. Her life had a lot of meaning; she had a good heart formed from a great family and wonderful friends! But... the only thing about her life that dosen’t matter... is you!”

“Well that really doesn’t matter now, does it? She’s dead, and I barely give a crap. But pretty soon, you’ll all be dead as well.”

Even though he felt the burden of losing Pumpkin in his heart, Acer looked at everyone that was there an gave them encouragement. “Listen, everypony; I know that I’m just an older colt, but… please, I ask of you. Pumpkin… m-m-may be gone, but... that changes nothing! This evil demon is going to hunt us down for fun and slaughter all of us no matter what we do or where we go! Well, if I was any of you, I would not just sit around and worry about Pumpkin’s sacrifice; instead, I would do everything I could to make this demon pay for what it has done! We can’t let Pumpkin’s sacrifice be in vain! So... s-s-so who is going to fight with me?!”

A lot of the residents were still hesitant in answering to Acer perposal. It was all silent and it seemed that no one was brave enough to continue on fighting.

"Heh, nice try, boy; but unfortunately for you no pony has the stupidity to challange me anymore. They've accepted their fate to die like the scum they are."

But after a few moments of silence, Pinkie Pie finally spoke up, “Acer is right… again; we need to make this demon spirit pay!”

Then Pound accepted Acer's speech, “You know I’m in!”

"What?"

Followed by Minty, “And so am I!”

Soon, more and more ponies got brave and stepped forward with them as well.

“We’re going to fight too,” shouted Mrs. Cake.

“Together!” added Mr. Cake as he kissed his wife.

“You can count us in,” said Twilight with her friends.

“And us as well!”said the Mayor with Cheerliee.

“And… I’m in too!” said Ruby confidantly as she came forward witht he rest.

Pretty soon, all of Ponyville was finally preparing to stand up to the demon that had caused Pumpkin so much pain and strife. They all knew that they may not win, but they were willing to fight in Pumpkin's honor and go forward to the bitter end.

“So you’re all going to resist against me just for the single life of one useless filly?!" the spirit couldn't believe of how Acer had turned the tables so fast. This just proved of how much Ponyville truly cared for Pumpkin. "Very well then; I guess I’ll play around with the sorry lot of you for a little bit… before I fully destroy you!”

“Come on, everypony," shouted Acer, "For Equestria… for Pumpkin!”

And with that, everyone gathered their courage and charged towards the demon spirit together. Envy was on the sidelines resting her wounds and was watching as the final battle against this demon was now on. She closed her eyes and prayed for all of their souls as she said to herself...

“And so… the end begins.”