Twilight quickly tried to figure out a way to get them all out of there, but sadly her mind couldn't function quite as fast as the Pegasi who attacked them. She noticed that their eyes all carried the same look of petrification, almost as if somepony had paralyzed them. Greyhoof's "cure"! She thought to herself, before shouting to her two friends, "avoid their eyes at all cost! They'll turn you into one of his slaves!"

Quickly, the three of them split up and ran around the back ends of the enslaved Pegasi. They knew that subverting their opponents' vision wasn't going to be easy, but it was the only thing they had to go with. So they spent the next few moments galloping around behind them before Twilight suddenly stopped and unleashed her magic over them. "Take this! Pedicas ejus, et seras, et interficiam te super hoc accingite vos fascinavit non perimus!"

Flame Mane couldn't help but feel a little excited when he heard his idol use a magic spell. He recognized it from one of her many spell books that he had read. Her eyes flashed when she spoke the words, and he swore that there was a beautiful aura that surrounded her. Her horn buzzed with power, and she shot a concentrated blast right at the hooves of their attackers. She threw up a trap around them, and caused blindfolds to be put over their eyes.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, "you did it, Twilight!"

"We're not out of the woods yet," she said before dodging a carefully timed hoof swipe from Greyhoof himself.

"You're going to be friends with everypony WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" The deranged pony screamed as he leapt at them. Unbeknownst to Twilight and the others, he had a vial of the petrification serum hidden in his lab coat. He quickly pulled it out and grabbed Starlight by the tail. The purple pony yelped as she felt him pulling on her. "You and I are gonna have a lot of…fun together," he said as he laughed in an incredibly creepy manner.

Now Starlight knew that he was looking at her in very perverted ways, and the last thing she wanted was some older pony grasping at her. She also knew that the serum he carried could transform her and force her to perform actions that would shame her forever. She wanted romance in her life at some point, but not like this. "Twilight, help!" She screamed desperately.

"I've got you, Starlight!" The princess responded as she fired a blast at Greyhoof. But he dodged it, and took Starlight out of the tent and into the woods. Twilight flew after them, firing blast after blast at the older stallion. But he was determined to accomplish his disgusting mission and he dodged just as quickly as Twilight blasted. How the hay is he so fast?! She asked herself.

She flew until her wings could fly no more and she had to either take a break or sap her entire body of strength. She fluttered down to the earth and plopped to her stomach. Her breaths were shallow and rapid and her heart pounded in her chest. Her lips quivered and tears rolled down her face as she realized that if she didn't keep going, Starlight was going to experience something so traumatizing, that she might forget about friendship and trust altogether.

So she forced herself to keep going. She slowly got to her hooves and tried flapping her wings, but it was useless. Her muscles were screaming with pain and the salt from her sweat stung her eyes. Her tears didn't make seeing any easier and she considered giving up. Real Celestia, if you can hear me…send somepony! She cried out to her beloved friend.

Suddenly, a pony dashed by her at top speed. She couldn't quite make out who it was, but she could tell they were headed in the right direction. What followed was the sound of an intense battle, with magic blasts being traded and furious hoof swipes. She heard howls of agony and finally, complete and utter silence. It was such a deep and ferocious silence, that she thought she had been swallowed up by the jaws of never ending Tartarus.

Then, to her surprise, two ponies emerged from around the trees in front of her. She shook her head and cleared her eyes before smiling in sheer happiness. It was Flame Mane, and he had Starlight close behind him. She could tell that Flame had been injured heavily. Blood flowed from numerous slashes on his body, and his eyes were dull. He was limping as well and he fell over in front of her. The two friends breathed heavily as they each tried to speak, but found their basic functions to be inaccessible.

Starlight collapsed next to the two of them, and Twilight never forgot the wild look in her friend's eyes. She looked as if she had been through hell, and Flame Mane had been the one pony who had looked out for her. He had carried her out of that experience, and she looked like she wanted to give him an eternity of gratitude.

"Wha…what happened?" Twilight finally managed to squeak out.

"I got…back there," Flame groaned as his pain finally caught up with him, "and he had her pinned down. I could tell he was trying to do something…unspeakable to her, so I lost control of myself…and…ugh…I attacked him. He swiped at me with such fury…I didn't think…I'd ever…win."

"But he did," Starlight said as she smiled, "and I'm so very thankful."

"That's it!" Twilight suddenly exclaimed.

"What's it?" Flame Mane asked.

"That's your special talent! You help save ponies who can't save themselves. Flame Mane…you're a hero!"

"I am?" Flame asked, "but I was…just…trying…ugh…to help."

"That's what makes you a hero," the princess said, "your willingness to help, and your friendly nature, even though you might fall over or stumble sometimes! You raced into that situation and rescued Starlight from certain trauma and, Celestia forbid, death itself. You did it with reckless abandon, knowing that above all else, your love and devotion for your friends had to come first. Flame, your cutie mark isn't real! It can't be! Nopony's special talent would be so irrelevant to what they actually are!"

When Twilight said that, Flame felt a warmth course through his body like he'd never felt before. He found himself being lifted off the ground as magic waved his wounds away and stopped his bleeding and pain. He also felt a strange sensation on his flank, and when he was set down, he turned to look at it. He gasped. "I have a new cutie mark!"