Chapter 8: Death

A lecture on true friendship.

Trust, is to know that your true friend would not deceive you to benefit themselves. Deceiving for good reasons is not bad. You could simply trick someone into walking into their own surprise birthday party, or lie about a key piece of knowledge that they may not be able to handle mentally. It may be for the best. But that doesn't mean to not be honest with them. You must be careful of what you reveal, and what you keep hidden.

Loyalty, is to know your true friend is true to their word, ranging from a simple secret to a sworn oath that you'd do nothing to break that friendship. Being loyal means that you'd never leave your friend's side, especially when they'd need you the most. The same goes for them. Make sure you're there for your friend. But… it does grow tough if your friend chooses the wrong path. If you can tell that your friend is most definitely walking the wrong path, don't be afraid to correct them. No, it doesn't show betrayal. If anything, it shows strong loyalty, dedicated to helping your friend opening their eyes to the right path.

Understanding, is to know your friend's personality. Yes, every now and then, friends argue. Or maybe sometimes friends argue all the time. But in most cases, that's all right. If you truly understand your friend, then you'll know what they truly mean and what they don't mean. Being understanding is knowing exactly how your friend feels. But sometimes, it's impossible, since your friend may have experienced something you hadn't. That doesn't mean you have a terrible friendship. It means that you can find an alternate path towards helping them out, not through experience, but through your understanding of your friend. And if they don't want to be talked to, leave them be for a while. If you understand your friend, then you understand that sometimes they just need a break.

Of course, there are many more parts to friendship.

But why tell you these things? Put these key elements into mind. Which pony lacks them?

Location: Canterlot Royal Palace

Just a few minutes earlier…

Celestia POV

Celestia began to feel a bit excited presenting the gift to Michael. It was something to remind him of home after all. Armor. How strange it was, but easy enough to get.

It was indeed quite simple to craft the armor from the same material as Michael's. First, she examined the material the armor was made of, or what was left of it from their first encounter. Next, Celestia needed Luna's help. The two had to focus on the layout of the human body to successfully duplicate the armor. Once all interruptions ceased, the two concentrated on the duplication spell.

It was exceptionally hard, since the material didn't seem to exist in Equestria. Both princesses grew tired quick from the process. Slowly, the light from both their horns combined to carefully create the armor. First, Celestia saw the legs emerge from the light. The sparks of magic swirled around the silhouette of the upper leggings as the torso was being created. Celestia noticed the armor was beginning to be black, like the original piece. But unlike the original piece, instead of dark purple stripes, bright green stripes flowed through out the armor. That was indeed weird, but it didn't seem to be affecting the process.

Eventually, the helmet began to form. Starting from the bottom, the magic slowly constructed the helmet. It was the same black as the rest, with the same green stripes flowing down the sides. When the magic reached the top, the only thing missing was the glass thing going over the eyes. Celestia believes Michael called it a visor.

Finally, the magic rushed to the visor's slot. It worked on the outside first, quickly making its way inward. The glass began to form, beginning a dark grey. But when the magic dissipated from the visor, it slowly changed to the same green as the stripes.

The two princesses, exhausted from their work, collapsed onto the ground next to the newly made armor. Celestia looked over at her sister. Luna was breathing deeply, but asleep. She had passed out from the intense magic.

Celestia got her to do it in the first place because she convinced her it was for human research. Celestia knew Luna wouldn't have agreed any other way. Silly little Luna.

Now here she was, prepared to witness Michael's reaction. Propped on the pedestal was the beautiful armor. Michael laid his eyes on it, and for a moment, seemed to almost jump in excitement!

'Yes!' Celestia thought, 'I knew he'd enjoy it!'

Her excitement, unfortunately, was short lived. Soon she noticed Michael's joyful expression ultimately transform into one of shock and despair.

'What's wrong,' Celestia thought, 'Did we mess up something?'

"What's wrong?" Celestia asked worriedly.

Michael didn't reply. He just gaped at the armor. Celestia concluded that something was definitely wrong.

"Michael?!"

Still no response.

Celestia reached out with a hoof to touch his shoulder. But before she could make contact, Michael fell head-first to the ground.

"Michael!" she shouted as she quickly rushed to his side. She flipped his limp body over with easy magic while examining for injuries. Everything seemed to be fine, except blood excessively began to drip from an injury to his forehead. He hit it against the stone floor. 'Fine.'

Other than that, Michael's heart rate was normal, and he breathed normal, thus the head injury was not fatal. Celestia quickly patched up the wound on his forehead with some magic, leaving a faint scar in its place.

The princess stared down at the ground, wondering what triggered such an odd reaction.

"That certainly didn't turn out as expected," she muttered to herself, "It saddens me that he was hurt physically from my surprise rather than enjoyed."

The princess decided she should discuss this with Luna later on. Right now she should take Michael to a guest room to recover. And maybe she should execute her plan on Nightmare Moon too… with Michael out of the way.

Location: Everfree Ruins

Nightmare Moon POV

It was about midday now. Nightmare Moon would usually be asleep too, but something was telling her to stay up a while.

She had been staring out the tower window for quite some time now, watching the beauty of the forest. Yes, the forest was quite ugly and creepy to others, maybe even to Michael as well, but to Nightmare Moon, it was just the way the forest was. With the twisted dead trees, the dense dark shrubs, and the entanglement of vines all gave the forest a reassuring feel. At least, that was how Nightmare Moon saw it.

Snap

Nightmare Moon's ears perked up to a disturbance coming from the dense canopy in front of her. It sounded like a twig breaking. Nightmare Moon scanned the edge of the forest, narrowing her eyes at anything that moved, but saw nothing. She shook the thought off and resumed doing nothing.

Snap

There it was again. Nightmare Moon angled her ears towards the trees, listening for more sounds.

Snap, Snap, Snap. SnapSnapSnapSnap.

There was definitely something there. But it sounded like more than one of whatever it was. Someponies were moving through the trees. Or whatever they were. But it was quite unusual. It did sound like there were quite a few. Could Celestia have somehow found out of her existence? Maybe Celestia sent the Mane Six. After a quick thought, Nightmare Moon decided she didn't send the Mane Six. There were too many hoofsteps.

"Perhaps she's sent the Royal Guard after me…" Nightmare Moon thought.

She also decided against that possibility as well. If Celestia knew she was alive, then Celestia herself would have shown up. What could it be?

Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes on a bush that seemed to be moving at the edge of the forest. After staring at it for a while, Nightmare Moon saw a head poke out. It was a pony's head for sure, but it was far from normal.

For one, it lacked a face. No mouth nor eyes. Just the nose and ears. Second, it was purely black. Its mane drifted around as if it were a black gas surrounding the pony's body. And third, there seemed to be an army of these pitch black ponies as they emerged one by one from the dark forest.

Now Nightmare Moon has lived for quite a while now, and never has she seen anything like this. Based on the extremely dark appearance, she decided to name them "dark ponies."

Nightmare Moon noticed that the ponies were all different types as well. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all emerged from the forest. A stray white bunny made the mistake of wandering out into the open in front of the ponies. A dark unicorn noticed it and launched an arc of black lightning immediately towards the poor creature. As soon as it came in contact with the bunny, the bunny dissolved into a dark gas and wisped away.

This was bad. Definitely bad. What if they reached Ponyville…

"Tell me, Nightmare," a voice suddenly asked from behind her, "What do you see?"

Nightmare Moon didn't turn around. His voice was too recognizable. "I see evil."

"Precisely," the voice continued, "And why not stop them? Your beloved subjects are in danger."

Nightmare Moon winced at those words. A choice was needed to be made. If she rescued Ponyville from these evil creatures, she could risk annihilation by Celestia herself. But if she stayed here, then she could be safe. Michael is out there too. She couldn't let him die. Anyone but him.

"Discord," Nightmare Moon asked, "Could you do a favor for me? I know you don't want to see innocent ponies die as well."

Discord grinned, "And what will that favor be?"

"You can easily escape Celestia," Nightmare Moon replied, "Could you warn her of these creatures for me? It could save many, many lives."

"Why I'd be honored," Discord chuckled, "I never though that I, of everypony would be the one to help save Equestria from impending doom."

Discord was about to vanish, but Nightmare Moon stopped him, "Who's behind this, Discord?"

Discord once again grinned, "I thought you'd never ask. I've been watching him for a long time now. I saw it coming."

"So who was it?"

Discord put on a serious look, "Sombra."

At that, he vanished into the daylight sky.

Location: Canterlot

Michael POV

"Gah!"

Michael jolted up in shock. He was sealed inside something and it wouldn't come off.

Breathing heavily, his eyes flashed around the room, adjusting to his surroundings. He was in some sort of small room. He was jerking his head violently in every direction, expecting some sort of threat to emerge from nowhere. Then he met a mirror, with a Mark VI Spartan staring straight back at him.

"Oh."

He scolded himself for reacting in a panicked way. He was just wearing armor. Nothing else.

"Guess I'm in the barracks," he muttered to himself.

But he realized what kind of room he was in. Two extremely undersized beds were put together to support his height. The window was plain, with bright sunlight streaming through the curtains draped over it. The door was small as well, mostly a hazel brown that was polished to look shiny. The floor was hardwood, and the walls were a simple tan.

It all came back to him. He was in Equestria. "Right. How could I forget?"

He took another look at himself in the mirror. He wore the same Mark VI armor he always wore. It was mainly black. But this time, instead of the purple stripes, there were green stripes flowing throughout the armor's surface. And instead of a dark purple visor, a vibrant green visor was in its place.

Michael was slow for a second, "Wait… Green armor…"

He remembered he was the Spartan from his dreams. Realizing this welcomed a ton of questions into his mind.

Wait, if I'm the Spartan, then were all my dreams, visions of the future? Then does that mean I attack Twilight in Nightmare Moon's defense? Then does that mean Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the rest get sent to eliminate Nightmare? Then does Celestia know something I don't? Does she know about Nightmare Moon?

The last question left a foul feeling in Michael's gut. Man that would suck. He knew what Celestia might do if she knew. But there's no way. Unless… she read his mind while he slept. He hoped not. Especially for someone like Celestia. She still needs to learn self-restraint, honestly.

In Michael's eyes, an open-minded person is the ultimate weapon in a conflict, physical or mental. An open-minded person allows themselves to know what their opposing side is coming from. An open-minded person fully understands the logic and reasoning behind their enemy's purpose, either if it is acted upon through anger, sadness, or through blunt cruelty. Celestia doesn't fully think before acting. That's her weakness as a leader.

Michael understands that a person, or pony, must fully see the other side of an argument to win.

"Where did that come from?" Michael thought, "All of a sudden I start thinking about this open-minded stuff. Ugh. I'm going off track."

Back to the issue with Nightmare. Michael knew he could trust Rainbow, or at least he thinks he can trust her. He couldn't entrust the secret with Twilight. He could tell her loyalty was strong to the princess. Applejack is the Element of Honesty, so she can't tell a lie. Michael doesn't really know Fluttershy or this Pinkie Pie pony yet. That leaves Rarity. She seems kind, but touchy when it comes to perfection. It kind of leaves the pros and cons of telling her balanced, leaving Michael indecisive.

What Element is Rainbow Dash anyway? If Applejack has an Element, shouldn't the other five have one too?

"If Rainbow is true to her word, then she would be something similar to loyalty… Or maybe she is loyalty. Twilight would probably have something to do with knowledge. And maybe Rarity has something to do with… fashion? Fluttershy's is probably something shy… what is that?!"

Michael's train of thought came to an instant stop when he noticed the air in front of his bed shimmer and distort. What was going on?

The atmosphere in the room seemed to twist as it began to form something in the center. Then all of a sudden, the room was still. Michael looked around, trying to find anything out of the ordinary.

"What was that abou-"

Michael was looking straight into somepony's eyes. No, not somepony, something.

For one, Michael found it creepy that it was grinning weirdly at him, not to mention kind of evil-like. Second, its body was made up of a whole bunch of different animal parts. It had a lion's paw here, a dragon's leg there, a jagged horn on one side of its head, an antler on the other, a lizard-like tail… everything about it was weird. And it was just grinning at him awkwardly. What the hell?

"Why, hello, Michael! You must be the newest pony here in Equestria!"

"It can talk? And it knows my name?"

Michael assumed the creature wasn't all that serious, since it used a heavily sarcastic tone. And it's obvious that Michael isn't a pony.

"Where's your manners? Don't you know how to speak?"

"Uh… hi?"

"Aha! So you can speak, huh? And, by the way, ignore what I said earlier. I know you're not a pony. I mean, come on! What kind of pony looks like you! Ha!"

Michael rolled his eyes, "And it's obvious you're not a pony either, based off of all these mixed body parts I'm seeing."

The creature suddenly scowled, "Hey! Let's not get into an argument, now! Anyway, I've come with important news."

Michael ignored him, "What are you?"

"That does not matter, but who I am does. I am Discord. The 'mischievous Spirit of Disharmony.'"

Discord seemed to wait for a reaction from Michael, but got nothing. "Aren't you going to you know, freak out or something? I am quite popular you know."

Michael seemed to be thinking, "I think Nightmare mentioned you before, but I don't remember much. So you were saying?"

Discord wiped the sarcastic look on his face and replaced it with a more serious one, "I've come with a warning."

Michael's face grew solemn, "What for?"

"You may not have heard of him, but Sombra, ex-king of the Crystal Empire, is leading a deathly invasion on Canterlot."

Michael grew worried, "Really? Here? Damnit…"

"And did I mention deathly? Yes. His army seems to dissolve any of its victims into a dark gas. You should tell the princesses for me."

Michael looked at him suspiciously, "Why don't you?"

"Because I'm the Spirit of Disharmony, remember? They don't want me! They'd probably blast me on sight!"

Michael sighed, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Discord turned to leave, but turned back towards Michael, "What are you wearing anyway?"

Michael chuckled, "It's armor."

Discord frowned before shrugging his shoulders and turning back around. "I guess I'll see you around, human."

In an instant he was gone.

Michael stared at where Discord disappeared, speechless. Discord honestly didn't seem all that much of a threat. He seemed too laid back. How could he cause disharmony?

Just then there was a knock on the door, followed by a familiar voice, "Michael? Are you awake?"

"Perfect timing," Michael thought.

"Yeah… I'm up."

In response the door opened and Celestia walked in. She smiled at him briefly, then regained her royal posture. "How are you feeling?"

Michael stretched, "I feel alright… a bit cramped at parts and a little sore on the head, but either than that, I'm fine."

"Well I was just checking on you," Celestia replied, "By the way, the armor looks good on you."

Michael forgot about the armor, "Oh… right…"

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Michael replied, "I just totally forgot about the armor, that's all."

"Alright then, I'll check back on you in a few hours." She turned to leave.

Michael threw his hand up, "Wait, princess."

Celestia turned back around, "Please, Michael. Call me Celestia. Anyway, what did you need?"

Michael sort of paused before responding, "Do you know Discord by any chance?"

Celestia looked shocked, "Erm… well… yes! Yes I know Discord… What of him?"

"Well…" Michael knew Discord was disliked, "I just spoke with him."

Celestia stepped back, "What?!"

Michael smiled behind his visor, "Geez. Discord was right about the reaction. It's pretty amusing too."

Michael put both of his hands up in a reassuring gesture, "It's alright, Celestia. He didn't cause any harm."

"But what in Equestria was he doing here?!" she asked quickly.

"Warning us."

Celestia grew silent.

Michael nodded, "Something deadly is coming. And Discord knew of it."

"D-Discord himself… is warning us of danger?"

"Precisely," Michael replied, being careful of what he'd say next. "And he told me that someone by the name of Sombra is the leader."

That made her fearful expression even worse, "S-Sombra?"

"Yes."

"We..We defeated Sombra…"

"Perhaps Discord is lying?" Michael asked.

Celestia pondered the possibility, but shook her head in disagreement, "There would be no reason for him to lie. Even if he were, all it's doing is making us more prepared for an attack."

Celestia turned her head towards the door, "Guards!"

Two pegasi guards appeared in the doorway, immediately standing at attention, "Yes, princess?"

"Prepare the defenses and ready the guard. We have trouble inbound towards Canterlot."

"Yes, princess!" The two guards immediately rushed down the hallway.

"Celestia," Michael asked, "If the invasion was from the Everfree forest, then perhaps Ponyville is in danger. Perhaps you should send a platoon of guards to aid the defense of the small town."

"Indeed," Celestia replied in agreement, "Especially since Twilight and her friends live there…"

Michael's eyes widened. How could he forget? Some of his closest friends in this world were in danger. "I'm going too."

Celestia stood with her head high, "Absolutely not."

Michael almost fell over trying to stop himself from running out the door. He expected her to agree right away. "Wait, what?! Why not!?"

"For one," Celestia explained, "We know not of what these creatures are capable of."

"Discord said that they dissolve anything into a dark gas that comes in contact with them."

Celestia flinched, but recovered, "And that helps your case how?"

Michael said that out of reaction. It honestly isn't going to get his case. Or will it…

Michael looked at Celestia through his visor, "It does help my case."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "How?"

"I understand you wish to protect me, Celestia," Michael began.

Celestia nodded for him to continue.

"But who's more important?" Michael asked, "Me? Or Twilight and the others?"

Celestia took a step back. Michael smirked behind his visor. He could tell he struck a nerve. He pressed on. "And to help my case even more, you know how physically capable I am of dispatching enemies. I mean, come on! I'm a soldier!"

Celestia was silent. She knew Michael was right. "Michael… You better not, and I mean you better not, get yourself killed. You've made friends here in Equestria. It would definitely impact them hard if you were gone."

Michael nodded in agreement. He understood that. "I guess that means I can go."

"Yes…" Celestia sighed.

"Then I recommend sending plenty of transport to Ponyville for evacuation, just in case."

Celestia nodded, "And how will you fight without a weapon?"

Michael looked at her sheepishly, "I was kinda guessing you could give me like a sword or spear or something, since you don't seem to have guns."

"What are… guns?" Celestia asked, "Never mind. And sadly, there aren't very many weapons. This is Equestria Michael. Almost no crime, and practically no war. But now that something may be coming up, I regret not having more manufactured."

"I suggest we move now," Michael said urgently, " I don't need a weapon. I'll fight with my hands."

"But wouldn't you prefer-"

"Just come on, Celestia!" Michael said, "Now that I think about it, we could be short on time. Those things can arrive in Ponyville any moment now!"

Celestia was shocked at Michael's sudden raise in tone. 'He must really care for the ponies in Ponyville, if he would dare raise his voice at me.'

"Then we go."

Location: Ponyville

"What a beeeeeautiful day for a picnic!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Come on, Pinkie. We do this about every week."

"I know, but it's soooo exciting!"

"Everything's exciting to you…"

Twilight stopped to take a look around, "How about we setup under the tree by the lake?"

Fluttershy grinned, "That would be nice, Twilight."

"Too bad Rarity isn't here to enjoy this pleasant day," Applejack said.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash joined in, "I wonder how she's doing in Canterlot."

"I'm sure she's fine," Fluttershy replied.

The five friends were on their way to setting up a picnic in Ponyville's park. It was a weekly thing, and Rarity was missing out on this one.

"Do you have the blanket, Rainbow?" Twilight asked, looking up at the hovering pegasus.

Rainbow Dash pointed with a hoof, "I stuffed it in Applejack's bags."

Twilight levitated multiple objects from the saddle bag while searching for the blanket, which was at the bottom. Eventually Twilight lead the blanket out and put everything back in.

"I love the shade!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She proceeded to bouncing around the tree they decided to setup under.

Twilight laid the blanket out under the tree while getting multiple things out of Applejack's bags. She sighed.

"I enjoy doing this with you guys," She said happily.

"It's the best we could do for you, Twilight," Fluttershy replied, "Without you, we would…"

"Ha, we would only be five!" Rainbow Dash said.

Rainbow Dash descended and landed beside Applejack, "Did ya bring any… uh…" she leaned in to whisper, "Cider?"

"No…?" Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash in confusion. "You do know what is in the cider I make, don't ya?"

"Yeah. Alcohol. And?" No wonder Rainbow Dash is practically addicted to cider.

Applejack groaned, "Rainbow Dash, it's a picnic! Alcohol does not belong at a picnic!"

"Aw come on!" Rainbow Dash complained, "You couldn't just sneak in one mug?"

"No… but I brought apple pie, apple tarts, apple crisp, caramel apples, apple cobbler, apple-"

Twilight giggled, "We got it, Applejack. Rainbow Dash and her cider…"

The five decided it was time to layout all the food. The majority of it was apple products, courtesy of Applejack. Twilight brought a few daisy sandwiches, Pinkie Pie brought cupcakes, Fluttershy brought salads, and Rainbow Dash brought cinnamon rolls she bought from the Crystal Empire.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "We can't get enough sweets, can we?"

"Nope!" Pinkie Pie said happily.

After everything was setup, the five admired their display. And the weather went along rather well with the picnic. A warm, sunny day with a slight cool breeze. The environment was peaceful too; trees swaying in the wind, fillies and colts playing in the fields, and birds singing their lovely tunes.

"Everything looks great," Fluttershy muttered.

"Agreed!"

"If only Michael were here…"

Everyone turned their attention in the direction of the comment.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You wish Michael were here?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash replied, "So?"

Twilight's frown grew into a smirk, "Do you have feelings for… Michael?"

Rainbow Dash freaked out, "N-No! Of course not! I mean… he's just a friend, that's all!"

"Ok, sugarcube," Applejack said, "No need to get all worked up. It's alright if ya have feelings-"

Rainbow Dash's face flushed red, "I said I don't! Let's just get on with this picnic already!"

Twilight hid a giggle with a hoof. "Alright then everypony. Let the picnic begin!"

At those words, the five chowed down on the various foods laid out on the blanket. Pinkie Pie consumed three cupcakes at the start while heading for Applejack's pastries. Rainbow Dash grabbed a sandwich and flew behind the tree. "Hey, Twilight. Can you come here for a minute?"

Twilight put down her cinnamon roll, "I'll be right there."

Rainbow Dash slumped against the tree and groaned. Why did she mention that in front of everypony?

"Hey, Rainbow?" Twilight said as she rounded the tree, "What's up?"

Rainbow Dash paced around a bit before asking, "Twilight, do I like Michael?"

Twilight was confused, "Um… shouldn't you know that?"

"Well… yeah, but- I don't know!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Then how do you feel?" Twilight said, "Ask yourself that. Do you feel a connection?"

Rainbow Dash stared out into space as she thought. "I can't figure it out. I just don't know if it's… you know, right."

"What do you mean?"

Rainbow Dash paced again. It seemed to be a tough topic, "Is it… like, right for a human and a pony to like each other? I mean… I just don't know. Part of me likes him. He's an overall cool guy. He's tough, fast, and brave. But then the other part of me isn't sure. He isn't a pony. And I just can't figure out if that would be right… for a pony and a human to uh…."

Twilight was speechless for a moment. She didn't think Rainbow Dash was capable of speaking from the heart well. She seemed to have had this problem for a while, and she's just now letting it out. Twilight placed a hoof over Rainbow Dash's chest. "Rainbow. What is friendship, to you?"

Rainbow Dash's face grew solemn. This was the question of a lifetime. "Friendship… friendship… I believe friendship has to do with the six elements of harmony. Honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, loyalty, and magic. But… I think it stretches farther than that. Friendship can be strongly shown when you can be friends with another species, in this case, humans. You show true friendship when you are able to make friends with others. To me, I don't care about how different others look, or… or how my life is supposed to follow through. I don't care that being normal looks better. I can change what's supposed to happen in an average pony's life… right?"

Twilight smiled warmly, "Right. Then what do you think?"

Rainbow Dash smiled in return, "I think friendship can be between anything, as long as both sides put an effort into making it work out. And I think there's nothing wrong with a human and a pony together."

Twilight stepped back, "So do you feel like the two of you would work out?"

"I-I… I still don't really know yet…"

Twilight hugged her friend, "Think about it."

Rainbow smiled, "Thanks for helping me think straight."

Pinkie Pie peeked around the tree, "Hey, you two! Don't be upset if all the food is gone when you're done chit-chatting!"

"We're coming, Pinkie."

For a moment, things were going well. The five friends were enjoying themselves, the day was nice, and Twilight helped her friend realize her true feelings. But good times don't last forever.

Twilight stopped. "What's that thing over there?"

The other four paused what they were doing to look in the direction of where Twilight's hoof pointed.

Fluttershy began trembling, "W-What is that?"

Applejack stepped forward, "It looks like some sorta… pony."

Rainbow Dash jumped in front of them, facing them, "It's a pony, alright. But it isn't normal what so ever. Just look at it!"

As Rainbow Dash pointed, the other four realized why they hadn't recognized it as a pony earlier. For one, it was indeed a unicorn. But its entire body was pitch black. A dark mist seemed to dissolve away from its body, giving it an eerie look. And… it lacked a face. Only a nose and ears. It looked entirely evil.

Rainbow Dash continued, "It has that weird gas coming off its body! Shouldn't we warn Ponyville?"

Twilight nodded in disagreement, "But shouldn't we find out if it is friendly or an enemy first? I mean, it could mean no harm…"

Rainbow Dash face-hoofed, "Ugh… I'm gonna regret this… fine. Just be careful, okay?"

Twilight began to slowly move towards the weird pony, which was staring at them blankly from a distance.

Pinkie Pie, who was silent the whole time, spoke up. "That thing is not friendly."

Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie Pie with a weird look. Her tone was not a Pinkie Pie tone. It seemed way more serious, and that's definitely unusual for Pinkie Pie. Something must be wrong…

"I don't mean to burst yer bubble, sugarcube, but how do you know?" Applejack asked.

Pinkie Pie glared at Applejack.

The thing that scared them the most was her mane. It wasn't deflated, yet she was using a serious tone. "It's as Rainbow said. Its look isn't exactly friendly. And we don't even know what it can do."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement, "I think Pinkie is right."

Rainbow Dash nodded as well, "Then we should warn Twilight. We need to get her to back down and get out of here!"

Applejack turned towards Twilight, "Twilight! Get back here! We've decided it's too dangerous!"

But Twilight was already near the dark pony. "Just one minute!"

"Ugh!" Rainbow Dash groaned, "Twilight and her science!"

Rainbow Dash flew quickly towards Twilight, landing right beside her. She lowered her voice to a whisper to avoid scaring the dark pony, "Twilight! We have no idea what that thing can do! We should leave before something happens!"

Twilight smiled at Rainbow Dash, "Nothing's going to happen, Rainbow. I mean, what can go wrong?"

Rainbow Dash had to admit that Twilight was right about that. Whenever they got themselves into a bad situation, they always got out of it. How could this be different?

"Yeah… I guess you're right…"

The two ponies were too busy conversing; they didn't notice the black horn on the dark pony begin to charge with black lighting. Rainbow Dash looked into its direction at the last second.

"What the…"

They could hear Applejack shouting, "Get away! Watch out! There's a bunch more comin' from the tree line!"

Sure enough, dozens more of the dark ponies appeared from the trees at the edge of the park. What was going on?
The dark pony in front of Twilight then launched an arc of black lighting straight at Rainbow Dash.

"Look out!"

"Huh? AAAAHHHHH!"

Michael POV

Michael was tapping his foot against the chariot's bottom impatiently. Ponyville was in the distance, but the chariot was going way to slow. The two pegasi flying it obviously weren't experienced flyers.

Two royal guards were in the same chariot as well. They were unicorns, and each carried a mere short pike.

"Don't they know offensive spells?" Michael thought, "If they do, why do they need a weapon?"

One of the pegasi flying looked back at Michael, "We're almost to the center of Ponyville. We're flying over Ponyville's park now."

Michael nodded and leaned over the edge. The bird's eye view he had was like looking at a map. At the center, you had a lake. A river flowed throughout the park, with many bridges extending over in multiple places. Trees were very little around the center, but a dense grove surrounded one side of the park. Multiple dark looking ponies were scattered among the tree line, with- Wait, what?!

Michael immediately looked back at the tree line. Dark ponies…?

"What the hell…?"

One of the pegasi guards looked back at Michael, "What's wrong?"

Michael's face fell, "We're too late! Half the platoon should land down here at the park to confront the creatures down there!"

Michael looked around him. About ten other chariots were flying along behind them. "Half of us should evac the ponies and the other half should defend them!"

The other chariots understood and prepared to separate. Michael continued to scan the grounds. Hundreds of those black ponies emerged from the tree line on the other side of the park. And, according to Discord, these things are extremely deadly.

Michael noticed the hard-light shield icon at the bottom of his visor's HUD. He never saw it before. "I wonder if it's functional…"

He flicked it on. Sure enough, a wall of blue hard-light emerged from his wrist. He switched it back off, smiling to himself. How did Celestia manage this? At least he could protect anyone and even himself in battle.

Something else caught his eye. Down at the center of the park, was a lone dark pony. A unicorn to be precise. And there were two other ponies down there in front of it. Michael's eyes widened. Rainbow mane… Purple unicorn… Damn it! Those idiots!

"I'm jumping!" Michael shouted to one of the guards.

The guard seemed shocked, "But the princess entrusted your safety with us! Surely you wouldn't survive a fall at this height!"

Michael looked back down towards Rainbow Dash and Twilight. He noticed the black unicorn charging up some sort of black lightning. Michael groaned, "Must I save everyone?"

At that he jumped off.

He could hear the guard shouting. "He jumped! Descend! Make sure he's alright!"

Back on the ground…

Twilight's eyes widened. The dark pony launched an arc of black lightning towards Rainbow Dash.

"Huh? AAAAHHHHH!"

Rainbow Dash POV

Everything seemed to go by slowly. Dumb Twilight. If it hadn't been for her, then I wouldn't have been here in the first place. We could all have just warned the rest of Ponyville… And now, here I am, about to get struck by some dark magic no pony has ever seen before. And this time, I knew it meant death.

Was this… was this… really about to happen? I looked away and I regret doing so. Instead of avoiding Twilight's face, who was probably already crying, I looked straight into the eyes of my friends. They looked horrified. All I could do was think; goodbye.

Boom.

Twilight POV

My fault. This is my fault. As I watched the lightning soar towards Rainbow, I couldn't help but think it's my fault. I don't think, I know it is. Why must I always drag my friends into these situations? Shouldn't I have learned? And this time, it was deadly.

Rainbow's death will be my fault. Death. Death hasn't happened in Equestria for the longest time. And thanks to me, Rainbow is the first.

Boom.