A nondescript figure stood in front of the Tree of Harmony. It smiled, and an aura of magic activated.

Hoofsteps pounded in a rhythmic frenzy, and their skidding halt and cry of alarm heralded the entrance of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. She'd brought the whole crew- including Spike and Starlight.

"Stop!" She cried. "What are you doing here?"

The only reply was a wicked laugh that echoed until you couldn't quite tell where it had come from in the first place.

"Step away from the tree!" yelled Rainbow Dash.

The figure made no effort to do this. Instead, it finally released the magic it had been carefully building up.

A crackling bolt of dark energy shot out, heading directly for the Tree of Harmony. Twilight raced forward and released a beam of magic in an effort to intercept the spell.

There was a loud crack in the air as the spells met, kicking up a cloud of dust. Everything stilled for a single moment. The two spells hung in a stationary ball of energy. All present held their breath. One question burned in everyone's mind: Had it worked?

Then, the ball of energy became a beam again, of dark and faintly pink magic. It rocketed forward- not towards the tree, but towards Twilight herself. She hastily attempted to shield against it, but when the beam hit the shield it spread across its surface, trapping her in a ball of dark magic.

Everyone stared in horror. Muffled cries escaped from the shield-turned-prison. It suddenly shrunk inwards, directly inside of her.

One magical light show later, Twilight reappeared. She looked perfectly normal.

Then, she suddenly burst into the air and fired a beam of magic down on her shocked friends.

Thankfully, they had brought Starlight, who shielded against the beam. Twilight cried out angrily and built up magic around herself, before flying directly into the shield.

It shattered in a burst of energy and everyone was scattered by the explosion. Twilight had made a crater in the ground, but seemed no worse for wear. Taking the opportunity of everyone else being stunned, she rocketed off and flew into the distance.

Everypony sat stunned. They didn't even realize that the nondescript figure had slipped away quite a while ago in the chaos.