In the realm of the undead, turmoil reigns supreme as the spirits of those long departed are conscripted into an unholy army, being compelled against their will but being unable to ward off the powerful enchantment that presses them into servitude of the controlling entity. The entity still cannot turn a small group of ponies, led by one Orion Brownmane and currently holed up in the otherworldly replica of Shadowfall Manor.

"Be reasonable, Orion. Sure, she passed the trials, but she stands no chance against my minions ... or myself! Let's just end this silly stalemate now and join me in my triumph. I promise to go easy on you if you cooperate."

"Who are you to talk of reasonableness?!" shouts Orion, standing firm in his sitting room, his family gathered around him. "Your minions are nothing more than my friends, warped and corrupted by your own doing! She passed the trials, and she will be victorious! Evil beings like you have never understood the concept of friendship and the power it holds, and you never will!"

"You have no idea of true power, and you never will, as long as you resist me," the entity said, its presence filling the room yet never manifesting itself. "Allow me to show you what true power can do towards getting things to turn your way."

A bolt of pure energy struck a gray-colored earth pony, who screamed as the bolt tore into his very core. "Orion! The wards ... they're breaking down! I can't ... oh, it hurts! Please, make it stop!" the pony cried, his battered cowboy hat dropping to the floor. The pony was now clutching at his head with his hooves, trying to resist the attempt to turn him against his friends and to the entity's side.

Orion stares, horrorstruck, at the sight of his best friend undergoing unspeakable agony as the entity attempts to control him. Horn flaring brighter than ever, he rises up onto his hind legs, his eyes glowing blue-white as he calls upon the power of love and friendship given to him over the centuries. "HARM THIS PONY, AND I WILL PERSONALLY BLOW YOU BACK TO THE DEPTHS OF TARTARUS ITSELF, DEMON!" he exclaims, power radiating from him. "YOUR POWER MEANS NOTHING!" He claps his hooves, blue flame flying toward the entity and wrapping around it like a cage, cutting Longhaul free from its grip. Orion drops back onto his hooves and gives Longhaul his hat back, "You dropped this, by the way."

Longhaul smiles up at Orion. "Thanks, buddy. He almost had me that time. Be careful, Orion, he's getting stronger. He has designs on controlling more than the dead, from what I was able to see."

The entity recoiled at Orin's blast but remained defiant. "We will weaken you eventually, Orion. When we do, we promise you that your torment will be quite painful ... both in spirit and mind." Laughter rang throughout the hall, sending chills through those gathered. Even though they were dead, they were quite frightened.

Orion stands tall despite his fear, calling down to Luna. "Your move, old friend! We've done what we can up here, it's down to Artemis and Perseus now!"

"The wheels are in motion, dear Orion! Let us hope they turn on our favor!" Luna calls back.

Artemis and Perseus set down in the castle in Perseus's world. "Welcome to Canterlot," he said, "and allow me to present Her Highness, Princess Luna." He bowed as Luna2 approached, and Artemis was struck at the similarities between this princess and the one she knew. Quickly, she did a short bow. "Princess Luna, I heard you needed my assistance. What is it you wish me to do?"

Luna2 smiles thinly, "As you can see, chaos is rampaging across both Equestrias, and the spirit army is preparing to bear down and kill us all, if not more. Your task is to gather the Elements of Unity, which I understand are currently on display in Shadowfall Manor. Collect them, and allow them to bond with each of you. Their powers will undo the damage that has already been caused, but at a price: our worlds will be sealed from each other forevermore. You will not pass into this world, and we cannot pass into yours. Be further warned: reports indicate the entity is manipulating the museum itself. History is now both your ally and your enemy."

Artemis nods. "I guess we'd better cross back over. I know a few ways in, so we won't be detected." She smiled a little. "I wish I knew what great-granddad used to say before starting one of his adventures. Oh well .. let's go save the world. Both of them." She and Perseus depart the castle and return to Artemis's world.

Standing outside the manor, Perseus looks up at the structure. "Wow ... almost like Great-Grandma Carrie's, except she did a little different painting scheme." He studies the walls, and makes a face. "I don't like the color..."

"Yeah, great-grandpa Orion was always obsessed with that particular shade of blue... no idea why." She steps up toward the sign and points, "Mirrorverse... this is where the Elements are kept." And she makes her way down the hall. The entity however, infuriated and even more powerful than ever, decides to manifest in the form of Lager Hops and Onyx, two more of Orion's old rogues.

"Well well well, if it isn't the halfling," Onyx says, spitting angrily. "Neither a full pony, nor a full changeling. Disgusting, really. Wouldn't you agree, Lager?"

"Yes, and so subservient to that princess. Really, we had much higher hopes than that," Lager replied with a sneer. "Well, no matter. For, you see, you and pretty boy here aren't going any further."

"Indeed," Onyx piped up. "In fact, since you're practically family and all, I'm going to give you one chance to redeem yourself. Oh, you were quite the roughneck, weren't you? Leader of a powerful street gang, little to care about and nothing to lose ... so, show me how worthy you are to be part of the changeling race. Drain ponyboy there dry, know what it feels like to taste the true essence of life, and show me just how much hate remains in your dark little heart for dear old great-grandpa. Do that, and I might even let you live, much less join us in our quest."

Artemis rolls her eyes and growls, standing protectively in front of Perseus, "I'm not draining him!" she shouts. "Honestly, what part of 'I don't care about the changelings' do you idiots not understand?" She buzzes her wings and indicates for Perseus to do the same, "We're flying over you numbskulls. Buzz off!" And she flies as fast as she can toward the display case.

Popping into existence in front of the display case, Arcturus made himself into a formidable barricade. "Ponies are food, not mates. You are an abomination to both races, Artemis." Onyx and Lager closed the path behind them, while Chrysalis hovered in the air to prevent any aerial escape maneuvers. "Abominations must be purged to keep the bloodlines clean. I will take great pleasure in performing this task, much as I took great delight in the destruction of Orion." The three figures on the ground started to advance on Perseus ad Artemis, while Chrysalis above them charged her horn.

Artemis snarls as Arcturus stands in front of the display case and charges her own horn. "This is for great-grandfather!" she shouts, lifting Arcturus into the air bodily with her magic and throwing him right into the glass of the case, shattering it. "Perseus! Get the Elements!"

Perseus ran forward toward the case, only to be stopped by Arcturus, who had recovered enough to grab the pony as he ran past. Onyx and Lager advanced on Artemis, while Chrysalis kept her in check with a series of blasts around her hooves.

Perseus morphed into a large earth pony stallion and lashed out at Arcturus with his hooves, sending Arcturus sprawling into a display case of bits from the other universe. Converting quickly into a unicorn, he grasped the Elements in a magical field. "Got 'em!" he called to Artemis.

Artemis grins and grabs the ones representing justice, truth, and love. The other three are openness, magic, and fairness. "This game has gone on for far too long!" she yells, voice echoing throughout the building as the power in the Elements begin to take hold. She and Perseus rise into the air, hooves linked. "With this final standoff, we end the melding of two worlds, destroy an army of ghosts, and allow those ghosts to finally rest in peace! I, Artemis Tenebrae, descendent of Orion Brownmane, now accept my position as protector of Equestria, and I hereby send you to a prison you can never escape!" With that the powers of unity combine, and a rainbow is formed, rocketing down toward Chrysalis, Arcturus, Onyx, and Lager.

The four screamed as the rainbow wave rained down upon them, ripping their spectral bodies apart and banishing their very essence to the depths of Tartarus. Outside the manor, and throughout Equestria, the souls of the dead were released from their bonds and returned to the plane of the departed.

Perseus, seeing the rift between their worlds closing, put on a burst of speed and jumped through as the fissure was sealing itself! "Farewell, Artemis! You did it!" he cried as the rift closed for the final time.

Artemis collapsed on the floor of the manor, exhausted. What she hadn't noticed during the battle was the strange sensation on her flanks, and it wasn't until she noticed a faint glint that hadn't been there before, that she turned to gaze upon what had appeared - a shield, with the emblems of the sun and moon, in front of which was a clock. Artemis had finally earned her cutie mark.

The cutecenera was held, of all places, in a cemetery. More to the point, the cemetery where Orion and Raven were buried. They, along with their friends and all of Artemis' friends, were in attendance. The party was going on in full swing, with dancing, music, and more food than anypony knew what to do with, when a spectral grey hoof tapped Artemis lightly on the shoulder. It was Orion, and he was smiling. "Mind if we have a word?"

"Oh ... certainly." Artemis walked with Orion away from the main gathering, toward a small gazebo. Artemis sat down on the bench swing suspended from the rafters. "I suppose I should apologize for being such a screw-up before all of this happened," she said once Orion had made himself as comfortable as a ghost can get.

"Apology accepted," Orion says with a smile, looking calm on another bench. "Believe it or not, you've grown and matured very quickly for a mare your age. And the emblem on your flank is proof of it." He adjusts his glasses, "I'm very proud of you, Artemis. Not only have you inherited my legacy, you are my equal, and perhaps someday, you will become my superior."

"Oh yeah, no pressure," Artemis said, rollling her eyes. She grinned. "I guess I have a lot of learning to do ... about you, about Equestria ... but one thing I want to ask you: If you had your life to live all over again, would you have done anything differently?"

Orion pretends to look thoughtful about that for three seconds, before laughing and shaking his head. "Not in the least. Even your great-grandmother's death, painful as it was, helped spur me on to greater heights." Then he thinks about something. "And when this is done, go ask Calyx on a date. Trust me, the pair of you need it!"

Artemis blushes. "So...you knew about that, huh? Well, I can ask her but I don't know if she wants to be around a goody-goody such as myself..." She giggles. "I will ask her, I promise. And ... thank you, great-grandpa. Thank you for helping me find a purpose to my life, and for helping me find the true me, not what I saw as me."

"You're most welcome," he says, kissing Artemis on the forehead. "And you know where to find me if you need my advice again." That said, he lifts into the air and floats back toward the party, leaving behind a scrap of paper with one word printed on it: "Geronimo."

Artemis picked up the paper, and after reading it, got a confused look on her face. "Hm. Why did I have 'Allons-y' stuck in my head?" She shrugged, and after tucking the paper away safely, went back to the party with her friends.